Prince Andrew was seen as a ‘valuable communication channel’ by China, newly released court papers have revealed.
The Sunday Times reviewed documents that allege a senior aide to the Duke of York was interrogated by MI5 regarding his covert relationship with supposed Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.
Andrew, 64, and Yang first met in 2013 at a reception hosted by the former head of McLaren during the Shanghai Grand Prix.
Yang Tengbo, a 50-year-old ex-Chinese government official, is said to have become a close confidant of Andrew, with his company, Hampton Group, establishing connections with Andrew’s venture, Pitch@Palace.
The Home Office, under the orders of then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman, banned Yang from the UK in March 2023 on national security grounds.Â
According to UK authorities, Yang developed an unusually high level of trust with Andrew and built relationships with UK politicians that China could exploit. Yang refutes any accusations of misconduct or espionage.
The new documents were released on Friday by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after Yang failed to overturn Braverman’s ban.
Prince Andrew (pictured riding at Windsor Great park on January 25) was seen as a ‘valuable communication channel’ by China , newly released court papers have revealed
British intelligence officials suspect that Yang is affiliated with the United Front Work Department, a Chinese organisation involved in political interference abroad.
MI5 built its case against Yang after a Mail on Sunday exposé, the newly released documents also revealed.
An exclusive investigation by this newspaper in 2020 detailed how a lobbying firm set up by Yang Tengbo had gained access to key establishment figures, including the Duke of York.
Authorities stopped Yang at Heathrow airport under counterterrorism laws in November 2021, seizing his mobile phone, laptop and iPad seized.
Much of the evidence against him was acquired from his devices.
Among the evidence found in his phone was a crib sheet for a planned call with Andrew, The Times reported, citing the court papers.
The sheet reportedly claimed that Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang viewed the Duke of York as a ‘valuable communication channel’.
Now, a cache of court papers, released last Friday, reveal how he appealed to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPCO) in a bid to force MI5 and the police to destroy a series of bombshell documents they had downloaded from his electronic devices.
It led to the UK authorities disclosing to him the ‘open source’ material they had gathered – including our story, which they then used to justify the retention of his data.
In one document, Yang accused the Home Office of relying on this newspaper’s reporting about him and argued he should be granted anonymity.Â
He said: ‘I know that the Home Office is prepared to rely on media stories in relation to its claims about me. Further reporting of this nature would be very harmful to, among other matters, my business interests and the Hampton Group.’
Yang Tengbo, an alleged Chinese spy, has been banned from the UK on national security grounds
Yang befriended Prince Andrew through his organisation Pitch@Palace
In another document, Yang’s lawyer claimed Buckingham Palace knew about his association with Pitch@Palace.
Yang lost his bid to force the Government to destroy his files but he was granted anonymity and was known only as ‘H6’ until reporting restrictions were lifted in December.
Other court documents revealed extraordinary details of the Duke of York’s connections with Yang.
One document found on Yang’s phone claimed Andrew planned to raise $3 billion for an initiative called the Eurasia Fund. Yang was authorised to act on behalf of the duke in talking to potential Chinese investors for the fund.
He said last week the allegations were unfounded, adding: ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
