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An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.

Security Advice for Defence Staff

During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.

He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in all modern cars.

Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.

But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”

Wider Security Context

This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.

Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.

The broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.