Government Official Confirms Ministry of Defence Investigating Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Staff Advised to Refrain from Secret Talk in Cars.
An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles 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 staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to communication habits.