An alleged Chinese spy with links to Prince Andrew has been named after an anonymity order was lifted. The government is facing an urgent question in the House of Commons on the issue this afternoon.
Monday 16 December 2024 14:48, UK
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Professor Anthony Glees, an intelligence and security expert from the University of Buckingham, has been speaking to Sky News after Yang Tengbo was named as an alleged Chinese spy who is said to have been close to Prince Andrew.
He says: “It’s clear that Prince Andrew has, unbeknown to himself, perhaps, been a risk to our national security.
“And naming [Mr Yang] will send a shudder down many people’s spine.”
Asked about the statement in which Mr Yang denies being a spy and calls his treatment by the UK “unfair”, Professor Glees says it’s “not worth the paper it was written on”.
He says that hostile states using “long-term penetration” lasting decades is common.
The academic also says the statement “may delude people into believing that influential Chinese people have no connection to the secret Chinese state”.
He adds: “In fact, there is an intelligence law in China that says that every member of the Communist Party of China has a duty to accept intelligence tasking if the state demands it of them.”
When it comes to Mr Yang’s relationship with the prince, Professor Glees says it is not clear what the “quid pro quo” was here.
He points out that it was known the prince was short of money – and the Chinese would “certainly” have known it.
“That will raise serious alarm bells… as well, because that would be an obvious problem if money changed hands in return for influencing,” the professor said.
There is no indication at this point that any money exchanged hands.
With the news that we can now name an alleged Chinese spy as Yang Tengbo, home affairs editor Jason Farrell has some more information on him.
He says Mr Yang, 50, ran a consultancy firm called Hampton Group International.
The Chinese-born man moved to the UK in 2002 as a student, going to the University of York, and was given indefinite leave to remain since 2013.
In China, he worked as a civil servant.
Hampton Group International is an advisory group that helped with relationships between the UK and China, Jason says.
“He set up a scheme that worked very much in the same way as, the Pitch@Palace, which was Prince Andrew’s scheme,” he adds.
“So [Mr Yang] kind of replicated that in China.”
Mr Yang first came to the security services’ attention when he was stopped entering the UK in November 2021 and his phone was seized, with messages from Prince Andrew and the royal’s confidants were found.
One adviser told Mr Yang that he “sat at the very top of a tree that many people would have liked to have been on”, in reference to his relationship with Prince Andrew.
After the seizure of the phone, the home secretary at the time said they had “reason to believe that you are engaging or have previously engaged in covert and deceptive activity on behalf of the United Front Work Department that is an arm of the Communist Party of China”.
It is not known precisely when the Duke of York and Mr Yang met, but a statement released by Andrew said the pair met through “official channels”.
It is believed they grew so close that Mr Yang was invited to the royal’s birthday party in 2020, visited Buckingham Palace twice and also entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle at his invitation.
He was also told by Prince Andrew’s aide Dominic Hampshire that Mr Yang could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China.
We’ve just been sent through a statement from alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo after an anonymity order protecting his identity was lifted at the Royal Courts of Justice.
“Due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity,” his statement says.
“I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded.
“The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue.
“This is why I applied for a review of the Home Office decision in the first place, and why I am seeking permission to appeal the SIAC decision.
“It is also why an order extending my anonymity up to the point of determination of the appeal process was granted.
“I have been excluded from seeing most of the evidence that was used against me under a process which is widely acknowledged by SIAC practitioners as inherently unfair: decisions are made based on secret evidence and closed proceedings, which has been described as ‘taking blind shots at a hidden target’.
“On their own fact finding, even the three judges in this case concluded that there was ‘not an abundance of evidence’ against me, their decision was ‘finely balanced’, and there could be an ‘innocent explanation’ for my activities.
“This has not been reported in the media.
“The political climate has changed, and unfortunately, I have fallen victim to this.
“When relations are good, and Chinese investment is sought, I am welcome in the UK.
“When relations sour, an anti-China stance is taken, and I am excluded.
“I am an independent self-made entrepreneur and I have always aimed to foster partnerships and build bridges between East and West.
“I have dedicated my professional life in the UK to building links between British and Chinese businesses.
“My activities have played a part in bringing hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the UK.
“I built my private life in the UK over two decades and love the country as my second home. I would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK.”
Images show the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo with former Conservative prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
Both Lord Cameron and Lady May’s spokespeople told Sky News they meet and are photographed with many people each year.
Lady May’s spokeswoman said she does not remember “when or where this particular photograph was taken or the man in question”.
A spokeswoman said: “Baroness May and her husband, Sir Philip, are photographed at numerous events in any given year.
“As such, she doesn’t remember when or where this particular photograph was taken or the man in question.”
A source close to Lord Cameron said: “David Cameron was leader of the Conservative Party for over a decade and PM for six years.
“He met thousands of people in that time at hundreds of functions and events. We don’t have any further information about this individual.”
An alleged Chinese spy with links to Prince Andrew has been named as 50-year-old Yang Tengbo after an anonymity order was lifted.
The order was lifted at the Royal Courts of Justice amid growing expectations that an MP – likely Reform’s Richard Tice – would have named him using parliamentary privilege in the Commons.
The government is facing an urgent question in parliament this afternoon about the spying group Mr Yang is said to belong to.
A spokesperson for Prince Andrew said previously: “The Duke of York followed advice from HMG and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.
“The duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
This morning, local government minister Jim McMahon suggested some councils might not have local elections next year as expected due to devolution reforms being planned by the government.
We’ve now had some clarity from Downing Street on the situation.
First off, the prime minister’s spokesperson says it’s best to assume all local elections are going ahead.
However, votes will be postponed if a council requests it is reorganised – but only if they do so under “the most ambitious timetable”.
“We would only be willing to consider this where there is a clear commitment to progressing reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timetable,” the PM’s spokesman said.
Such reforms – which could see some smaller local councils, like district ones, combined into bigger authorities – will “improve accountability” and “tackle waste” they added.
“We’re setting our plans to tackle the inefficiencies currently holding back some areas which result in multiple layers of government,” the spokesperson said.
We’re expecting to hear more about the plans from Angela Rayner in the next hour or so.
Nigel Farage is not happy with the sentence handed to a woman who threw milkshake at him during the election campaign.
Victoria Thomas Bowen, 25, admitted assault by beating following the incident back on 4 June, which happened as the Reform leader left a Clacton pub.
Today she’s been given a 13-week prison sentence, suspended for a year.
Mr Farage said “we now live in a country” where you can assault an MP “and not go to prison”.
He said it was an “example of two-tier justice”.
The government will this afternoon answer questions from MPs about a Chinese spying group.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, has been granted an urgent question on the United Front Work Department.
The question’s wording reads: “To ask the Home Secretary if she will make a statement on the extent of United Front Work Department operations within the UK.”
This, notably, does not mention the royal family.
The UFWD is the group that H6 – a Chinese spy with alleged links to Prince Andrew – is said to belong to.
Reform UK’s Richard Tice is understood to be planning to name H6 under parliamentary privilege, as this makes him immune to prosecution for breaching the anonymity order.
The earliest this question could be held is 3.30pm – however timings in the Commons are fluid.
There’s a new twist in the tale of the Chinese spy – known only as H6 – who is allegedly linked to Prince Andrew.
A hearing has been scheduled at the Royal Courts of Justice today.
There are very few details, but what we do know is the case will be held before Mr Justice Chamberlain.
It will take place no earlier than 2pm in courtroom 76.
The details on the court listing only say it is an application notice, and is in the case of “The King (on the application of H6) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission”.
We’ll bring you more when we find out what is going on.
This means it could take place before any statement or questions in the House of Commons, which does not start sitting until 2.30pm.
From the Politics Hub with love, allegations of spying and espionage have dominated our coverage this morning.
Here are the main things you need to know:
We’ll bring you any updates on the case of H6 should it be brought up in the Commons, as well as Angela Rayner’s plans for councils.
Away from parliament, the spying case will also have a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice from 2pm – we’ll bring you any news from that regarding the potential lifting of his anonymity.
Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge is back tonight from 7pm – not too many more programmes now until the Christmas break!
Stay with us for more news and analysis until then.
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