Minister Confirms Ministry of Defence Looking at Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, as Personnel Advised to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from vehicle use to discussions habits.
