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An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.

Safety Advice for MoD Personnel

During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.

The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.

Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.

But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.

When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”

Wider Defence Context

This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.

The broader security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.