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An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in all vehicles.

Safety Guidance for MoD Staff

During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.

The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.

We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.

However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Security Context

This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.

Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.

The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.