A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official activities, from transport use to communication habits.
