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A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in all cars.

Safety Advice for Defence Personnel

In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese cars.

He said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.

We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.

But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.

After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Defence Background

The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.

The wider security situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including transport usage to communication habits.