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A defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.

Safety Advice for Defence Personnel

In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.

The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.

We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.

But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.

When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”

Wider Security Context

This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.

This broader security situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.