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An defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.

Safety Guidance for MoD Staff

In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.

The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.

Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent 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 not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.

After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”

Broader Defence Background

The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.

The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, from transport use to communication practices.