Minister says MoD looking at security risk from Chinese cars, with staff told to avoid secret talk in vehicles – UK politics live | Politics
Minister says MoD looking at security risk from Chinese cars, but staff told to avoid secret talk in any vehicle
In an interview on LBC this morning Luke Pollard, a defence minister, was asked about Tan Dhesi’s claim that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secrets in Chinese cars. (See 9.05am.)
Pollard said the MoD was “looking into Chinese vehicles within our fleets”. But security was an issue in all modern cars, he said.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles [Chinese ones] represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people to do is not plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about [security].
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Key events
Q: Why are we selling jets to Turkey when it is the third largest importers of Russian oil?
Because it is a major Nato country, Healey says.
And he says that bringing another country into the group of Typhoon-flying nations will strengthen European security.
And the deal will help secure 20,000 UK jobs for years, he says.
Asked about the spy threat from China, Healey says the Commons speaker gave advice to MPs. He does not know if MoD officials have been approached using the methods described yesterday when the threat to parliamentarians was described.
Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, Healey says
At the start of his speech Healey said a Russian spy ship called Yantar is on the edge of British waters. He said it had been mapping undersea cables, and shining lasers at RAF pilots, which he said was “highly dangerous”. He said:
My message to Russia and to Putin is this: We see you. We know what you’re doing. And if the Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.
Asked about this in the Q&A, Healey says this is the first time Yantar has done this. The government is taking it extremely seriously. He says he has changed the terms of engagement, so that the UK can follow it more closely when it is in British waters. He says he will not give details, but he says the government has “military options ready”.
The last time Yantar was there, the MoD surfaced a nuclear-powered submarine that had been tracking it, which it did not know about, he says.
This is what Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s defence and security editor, posted during John Healey’s speech.
Watching a rare speech from def sec John Healey in 9 Downing St. A special outing from Labour’s safest pair of hands in an attempt to short up messy budget pitch rolling, justifying boost to defence budgets. “We’re getting on with the job we were elected to do,” he says.
Q: Do you agree with the German govenrment’s assessment that Russia could attack Europe within five years? And can Britain be put on a war footing without taxes going up?
Healey says the government cannot turn around the situation overnight.
The government has set out its plans. And it has a “Nato first” commitment, because the UK won’t fight alone.
Private investment is rising too, he says.
Healey is now taking questions.
Q: How close are are we to war?
Healey says the threats to the UK are rising. That is why Labour proposed at the election raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, a level not seen since Labour was last in office. He says the government wants to raise that to 3% in the next parliament.
Healey says the other main parties cannot be trusted on defence.
He says the Tories would cut defence, as they did in the past. The Greens would pull the UK out of Nato, he claims.
(In fact, official Green policy is not to withdraw from Nato.)
The SNP spurn our military, he says (in reference to their opposition to the nuclear deterrent.)
And he says Nigel Farage is week on Vladimir Putin.
He ends:
It is Labour that is the party of defence.
Healey is now giving details of the plan for new munitions factories announced today.
There are more details in an MoD news release here.
John Healey, the defence secretary, has been highlighting government achievements since the election in his speech in Downing Street this morning.
He says the armed forces have had the largest pay rise for 20 years, defence spending has increased by the largest amount since the cold war, 36,000 MoD homes have been brought back into public ownership, the government has helped set up a coalition of the willing for Ukraine, and it has forged a defence partnership with the EU, he says.
Keir Starmer has told his son how “proud” he is of him and how he enjoys sharing a takeaway in a video message to mark international men’s day.
As PA Media reports, the prime minister talked of his strained relationship with his own father but said he had always been determined that his bond with own son “was going to be different”.
In a video letter posted to Instagram, Sir Keir tells his son, who he does not name in public:
It feels like only yesterday that we brought you home, so nervous but so excited for the journey ahead.
Today, almost unbelievably, you’re already 17. You’re taller than I am and you’ve grown into a confident, kind, wonderful young man, and I’m so proud of you.
I didn’t have a very close relationship with my own dad.
When my mum, your grandma Jo, was sick, and she was very sick, he cared for her devotedly, but he and I never really spoke, we never really got to know each other.
I was determined that my relationship with you was going to be different and spending time with you is one of the highlights of my week, whether it’s a takeaway or going to watch Arsenal.
John Healey, the defence secretary, is giving his press conference now.
There is a live feed here.
Minister says MoD looking at security risk from Chinese cars, but staff told to avoid secret talk in any vehicle
In an interview on LBC this morning Luke Pollard, a defence minister, was asked about Tan Dhesi’s claim that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secrets in Chinese cars. (See 9.05am.)
Pollard said the MoD was “looking into Chinese vehicles within our fleets”. But security was an issue in all modern cars, he said.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles [Chinese ones] represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people to do is not plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about [security].
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Lack of planning has hit Labour’s efforts to fix public services, says thinktank
Keir Starmer is failing to make major improvements to public services partly because he did not plan properly while in opposition, according to a report from the Institute for Government (IfG).
Kiran Stacey has the story here.
Here is the IfG report.
And here is its scorecard on how the main public services are performing.
At his press conference this morning John Healey may be asked about this claim, from Tan Dhesi, the Labour chair of the defence committee. On Newsnight last night he said that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret or classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
“I understand also that MOD officials, and anybody travelling in vehicles… have now been told do not discuss any secret or classified information”
Defence committee Chair Tan Dhesi talks about the guidance Gov’t officials are given surrounding national security.#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/pOihNuvPyj
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) November 19, 2025
In the Commons yesterday Alicia Kearns, a shadow Home Office minister, said that earlier this month “Norway and Denmark alerted us to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses” and that these would allow “China to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems”.
UK lacks defence strategy, MPs say, as plan unveiled for more weapons factories
Good morning. Rachel Reeves will be unveiling her budget a week today, but the rollout of budget-related news has already started and this morning John Healey, the defence secretary, will hold a press conference to announce that the government has identified 13 sites for new munitions factories.
In a news release, the Ministry of Defence says Healey will commit to “building the factories of the future in Britain” and expects industry to break ground on the first energetics factory in the next year. The MoD says:
The defence secretary will confirm that MoD has now funded a number of feasibility studies for the new energetics factories to kickstart high-volume energetics production at scale for the first time in nearly two decades. The engineering design work on the first of these factories has been commissioned with a view to start production for UK armed forces and to enable our continued support to Ukraine. Potential sites include Grangemouth in Scotland, Teesside in Northeast England, and Milton Haven in Wales. The factories will produce the components essential for bolstering the UK’s weapons arsenal including propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics.
“Energetics” are weapon parts, including propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics.
Healey will also say that the decisions in the budget will ensure there is no return to the “hollowed out and underfunded” armed forces of the past.
And about time too, the Commons defence committee says (sort of). In a report out today, it says Britain does not have a plan to defend itself from attacks. It says:
The UK’s defence industrial base is not yet configured for sustained collective defence. It faces challenges in capacity, skills, innovation, procurement, and financing. The SDR [strategic defence review] and defence industrial strategy outline a reform agenda, but implementation will be key. The government must ensure that defence finance is accessible, predictable, and resilient— including for SMEs and start-ups.
The UK lacks a plan for defending the homeland and overseas territories with little progress on the home defence programme. The prime minister’s ‘national conversation on defence and security’, highlighted in the SDR, is yet to start. The proposed defence readiness bill, vital to empower government in the event of crisis or conflict, has not yet been written. The government must improve cross-departmental coordination, clarify responsibilities, and engage the public meaningfully in preparedness efforts.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.15am: Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, gives evidence to the Commons work and pensions committee.
10am: John Healey, the defence secretary, holds a press conference in Downing Street to announce investment in armaments production.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
2pm: John Swinney, the Scottish first minister, speaks at an Institute for Government event.
Afternoon: Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, holds a press conference in Berlin with her German counterpart, Johann Wadephul.
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