🔗 Share this article

An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.

Security Guidance for Defence Staff

During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.

The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in all modern cars.

We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.

However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.

After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”

Wider Defence Context

This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.

Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.

This wider security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.