A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, from vehicle usage to discussions habits.
