Government Official States MoD Examining Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Instructed to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.

A defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in all vehicles.

Security Guidance for Defence Staff

During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.

He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.

Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.

But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.

After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Security Context

The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.

The broader defence situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.