An defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
