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A defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.

Security Advice for MoD Personnel

During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.

The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.

We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.

But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.

When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Wider Security Context

This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.

Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.

The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.