Minister Confirms Ministry of Defence Looking at Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Instructed to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.

An defence official has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.

Safety Advice for Defence Personnel

In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.

The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.

Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.

However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.

After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”

Broader Defence Context

This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.

Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.

The wider security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.