Alleged Chinese spy who befriended Prince Andrew named as Yang Tengbo

Alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who became a close confidant of Prince Andrew, has insisted he "has done nothing wrong or unlawful".

Yang's identity can now be reported after an anonymity order was lifted at an urgent hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday afternoon.

The businessman, also known as Chris Yang, forged links at the heart of the British establishment, including with the Duke of York, and had been pictured with senior politicians including former prime ministers Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May.

In a statement issued on his behalf, he said: “Due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity.

“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.”

Yang, who was known as H6 before his identity was revealed, claimed he had "fallen victim" of a “political climate” which had seen a rise in tensions between the UK and China under the Conservative Government.

“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,” he said.

He went on to say he "would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK" and has "always aimed to foster partnerships and build bridges between East and West".

ITV News understands Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson and their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie will not be joining the rest of the Royal Family at Sandringham for Christmas.

Downing Street earlier would not say whether the prime minister or other ministers had also met with Yang, before his anonymity was lifted.

An Urgent Question on the “extent of United Front Work Department (UFWD) operations in the UK” will take place in the House of Commons later on Monday afternoon, after former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith's request was granted.

Yang, who had been in the UK for almost two decades, last week lost an appeal over a decision to bar him from entering the UK on national security grounds.

He is listed as a director of Hampton Group International, a business consultancy which claims to act as a bridge between China and the rest of the world.

The 50-year-old worked as a junior civil servant in China before heading to the UK in 2002 to study and he was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2013.

He was the founder-partner of Pitch@Palace China, an initiative which was the Duke of York’s scheme to support entrepreneurs.

Yang was first excluded from Britain by then-home secretary Suella Braverman in 2023, when the Home Office said he was believed to have carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for the Chinese Communist Party.

Judges at a specialist tribunal in London last week ruled Mrs Braverman had been “entitled to conclude” that he “represented a risk to the national security” after he launched an appeal against the decision.

The businessman had brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after his initial exclusion in 2023 but his appeal was dismissed.

Yang's statement continued: “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."

Sir Keir Starmer earlier admitted he had concerns about China but defended his approach to engaging with Beijing.

In November, he became the first British prime minister since 2018 to meet the Chinese president.

Speaking during a visit to Norway, he said: “In relation to any discussions with Buckingham Palace there’s a long-standing convention in the United Kingdom that that’s never spoken about.

“But of course we are concerned about the challenge that China poses.”

Sir Keir added: “Our approach [with China] is one of engagement, of co-operating where we need to co-operate, particularly on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should, particularly on issues like human rights and to compete when it comes to trade.

“That’s the strategic approach that we have set out as a UK Government.”

Government minister Jim McMahon admitted it was a concern that H6 had been able to “slip through the net”.

At a hearing in July, the tribunal was told an adviser to Andrew said Yang could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, and that he had been invited to the duke’s birthday party in 2020.

A letter referencing the event from the aide, Dominic Hampshire, was discovered on Yang’s devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021.

The letter also said: “You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship … Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.”

Yang was later informed that he was believed by UK authorities to be connected to the United Front Work Department, which is tasked with conducting influence campaigns.

Prince Andrew's office said he ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.

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