A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
