A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
