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A defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.

Safety Advice for Defence Staff

In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.

The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.

Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.

However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.

When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”

Broader Defence Context

The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.

The broader security environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.