A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
