A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
