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An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.

Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel

During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.

He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.

Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.

However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”

Wider Security Background

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

Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.

This broader security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.