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A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.

Safety Advice for Defence Staff

During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.

He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.

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

But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.

When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Security Context

This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.

The wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government activities, from vehicle usage to discussions habits.