A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official activities, from transport use to communication habits.
