DEFENCE chiefs have put spy alerts on dashboards of Chinese cars used by its staff and troops.
Stickers warn phones could be hacked, and the car itself could eavesdrop.
They say: “Avoid conversations above OFFICIAL within the vehicle.”
“Official” is a rating one above unclassified but rungs below Top Secret.
Bosses, who ordered hundreds of Chinese electric and hybrid cars to slash emissions, also say drivers should not connect MoD-issued phones to the vehicles.
They have even banned Chinese cars from going near sensitive bases.
Figures show the MoD has 745 electric vehicles and 1,414 hybrids in its fleet of non-combat vehicles, many of them MGs from China.
It plans to lease thousands more.
Chinese electric vehicles have been leased by the MoD to try to meet Net Zero targets.
Over the next couple of years, the MoD is still hoping to clean up its fleet of 12,000 civilian vehicles.
Many of the cars are MGs from China’s state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.
However there are fears that inbuilt microphones are within them that could record and transmit conversations, thereby risking national security.
Not only could they record conversations, but also track movements with cameras on the inside and out.
Some have expressed concern the cars could even be overridden and controlled remotely.
In 2023 a suspected tracker was found in a government Chinese car used by PM Rishi Sunak.
They are said to be everywhere from Special Forces headquarters to nuclear submarine bases.
Expansion of Chinese cars being used in the UK comes as MPs have warned of China “secretly embedding microchips” into the country.
Fears have grown that they may be able to bring Britain to a standstill by switching off traffic lights and freezing electric vehicles.
Experts claimed at a private briefing in Parliament these microchips could be weaponised to trigger blackouts.
