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A defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.

Safety Advice for MoD Personnel

In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.

The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.

Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.

However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.

After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”

Wider Defence Background

The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.

This wider security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.