An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of government operations, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
