‘Chinese spy’ at heart of Prince Andrew scandal named
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The Chinese entrepreneur connected to the supposed Prince Andrew espionage scandal has been identified as Yang Tengbo.
In 2023, a 50-year-old director of a Chinese investment consultancy was prohibited from entering the UK due to concerns that he might pose a risk to national security.
A High Court judge has lifted the anonymity order, allowing for his identification after MPs called for him to be named.
Stay tuned for real-time updates here.
In 2021, Mr. Yang was discovered to have letters directed to the United Front Work Department in Beijing. This department operates in secrecy and is part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), focusing on expanding its influence over international officials.
Mr. Yang stated that he has not engaged in any illegal or improper activities, and claims that the common perception of him as a 'spy' is completely false.
His situation only became known when he appealed his expulsion from the UK at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, but that appeal was rejected on Thursday.
The analysis showed that Mr. Yang, who founded his business in 2005, developed a close relationship with Prince Andrew and represented him with investors in China.
It’s reported that he leveraged his well-known relationships to gain access to Buckingham Palace and other royal locations, with new claims suggesting he also had meetings with two previous prime ministers.
The Sunday Times reported that he encountered David Cameron at a reception at Downing Street and met Theresa May at a formal event, both of which occurred over the past 15 years in his office in London.
On Thursday, the judges determined that former Home Secretary Suella Braverman had the right to decide that he posed a threat to national security and to expel him from the UK.
According to the ruling, Mr. Yang attended university in China and spent several years employed as a junior civil servant.
In 2002, he relocated to the UK to pursue a master's degree in public administration and public policy at the University of York.
Three years later, Mr. Yang started a consultancy firm focused on Chinese investments, which went on to organize several notable events related to China.
Information presented to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission suggested that a text message discovered on his phone identified him as an international representative of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory organization that plays a key role in the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front system.
A temporary anonymity order had been established for the businessman, who had earlier been identified solely by the name H6.
Nonetheless, there was mounting pressure for his identity to be revealed after Members of Parliament warned that they would use parliamentary privilege, which offers legal protection, to disclose his name.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, shared with the Mail on Sunday that the H6 should be identified right away. He expressed that not doing so gives the impression of an attempt to conceal information by the establishment.
He stated, "If the issue isn’t settled in the courts, he ought to be identified in the House of Commons. It is evidently for the good of the nation."
Labour MP Graham Stringer expressed to the newspaper that it was "absurd" for H6 to stay unnamed "in the nation where he supposedly engaged in espionage."
It is thought that former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith is trying to initiate a debate in the House of Commons regarding Mr. Yang's supposed actions, even though there is a long-standing tradition in Parliament that discourages MPs from talking about the matters involving senior members of the royal family.
China-hawk Sir Iain stated that it’s important for parliament to be informed, as the Royals hold a leading position in the government.
