🔗 Share this article

An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in all vehicles.

Safety Advice for MoD Personnel

During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.

The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.

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

But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.

When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”

Broader Security Background

This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.

Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.

This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, from transport use to communication habits.