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A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in all vehicles.

Security Guidance for MoD Staff

In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.

He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted 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 traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.

After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”

Broader Security Background

The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.

Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.

The wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.