MoD Tells Staff not to Discuss Secrets in Cars Amid China Spying Fears
By Tom Cotterill – Defence Editor
Pictures emerge of ‘warning stickers’ placed in vehicles which have the potential to transmit data to Beijing
Stickers banning military staff from discussing secrets have been fitted inside the Ministry of Defence’s fleet of electric cars amid fears China could be eavesdropping on them.
The MoD has leased hundreds of electric cars as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and hit net zero targets, including some built by a Chinese-owned firm.
However, concerns have been raised that the cars could contain microphones capable of recording sensitive conversations before transmitting them to Beijing.
The MoD has already banned some electric vehicles (EVs) with Chinese components from being parked near sensitive military bases.
On Monday, pictures emerged on social media purporting to show warning stickers placed in the vehicles.
Stuck to the dashboard, one read: “MoD devices are NOT to be connected to [this] vehicle”, while the second said: “Avoid conversations above OFFICIAL within the vehicle.”
A source insisted there was no evidence to show any sensitive data had been passed to third parties, while the MoD said the rules applied to all civilian vehicle hires, not just electric cars.
However, a former British military intelligence officer has branded the situation as “ludicrous”.
Colonel Philip Ingram said: “Modern vehicles are not just cars but computer systems with built-in surveillance and sensors that can send data back to manufacturers.
“It would be obvious to anyone that the cars that will be used by MoD personnel would have the potential to transmit data – that includes any device connected to the car or voice data.
“The Ministry of Defence should have realised this would be something the Chinese government would exploit.
“It shows a level of naivety and arrogance in MoD decision-makers that beggars belief.”
Many of the new EVs used by the MoD are MGs from China’s state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.
Recent figures show the MoD has about 745 electric vehicles and about 1,400 hybrid cars in its fleet.
The MoD’s fleet of EVs includes MGs made by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation
In April, the Government’s spy lab warned EVs could pose a potential threat to national security as they are vulnerable to Chinese spying.
An official report by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) found there were concerns Beijing – which dominates the market – could effectively snoop on conversations by using the vehicles.
The warning in the report, which was delivered to the previous Tory government, contributed to fears at senior levels in Rishi Sunak’s administration that electric cars were “basically mobile spying platforms” and even those made in the West using Chinese parts were susceptible.
The concerns were raised amid the government fleet going green, given China’s dominance in electric vehicles.
Fears of Chinese spying were sufficiently high that the DSTL, an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence, was commissioned to look at “connected vehicles” and whether they were vulnerable to spying by Beijing.
All electric vehicles are deemed to be “connected”, meaning that data and information are sent out beyond the vehicle, sometimes over the internet. Increasingly, petrol and diesel cars are also “connected”.
An MoD spokesman said: “As the public would expect, we have security advice in place to protect our systems and information.
“This includes ensuring that official devices are not connected to cars and that staff only have conversations at the appropriate classification.
“This policy applies to all MoD civilian hire vehicles, not just electric ones.”
MG and the Chinese embassy were contacted for comment.
Original source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/17/mod-staff-dont-discuss-secrets-cars-amid-china-spying-fears/