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An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.

Security Advice for Defence Staff

During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.

He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.

Our department has a fleet of tens 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 non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.

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

Broader Security Background

The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.

This broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.