Government Official States Ministry of Defence Investigating Security Risk from Chinese Cars, as Personnel Advised to Refrain from Secret Talk in Vehicles.

A defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.

Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel

During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.

He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.

We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.

However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.

After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”

Wider Defence Background

The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.

Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.

The wider security environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.