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A defence official has stated that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.

Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel

During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.

He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.

We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.

However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.

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

Wider Defence Background

This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.

The broader security situation highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport usage to communication habits.