'Chinese spy' was 'invited' to Buckingham Palace by Prince Andrew - as calls grow for identity to be revealed

14 December 2024, 13:13 | Updated: 14 December 2024, 13:24

The businessman accused of being a Chinese spy was invited to Buckingham Palace by the Duke of York, it has been reported.

The man - who was banned from Britain by the Government on national security grounds - visited Buckingham Palace twice, and also entered St James's Palace and Windsor Castle at the invitation of Prince Andrew, The Times reported.

On Friday, the duke said he "ceased all contact" with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy when concerns were first raised about him.

Suella Braverman, the former Home Secretary, has called for the alleged Chinese spy, to lose his anonymity.

The thought has been echoed by other senior Tories such as Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Chris Philp, reports The Telegraph.

MI5 had identified him as an agent involved in “covert and deceptive activity” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.

Andrew met the individual through "official channels" with "nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed", a statement from his office said.

The businessman brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after then-home secretary Suella Braverman said he should be excluded from the UK in March 2023.

Several newspapers have reported that the King has been briefed about his brother's links to the alleged spy.

Ms Braverman has called for the man - known only as H6 - to lose his anonymity, the Telegraph has reported, as a "deterrent to others taking part in similar activities".

Judges were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed H6 had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials "that could be leveraged for political interference purposes".

They also said H6 had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state, which combined with his relationship with Andrew, 64, represented a threat to national security.

At a hearing in July, the specialist tribunal heard the businessman was told by an adviser to Andrew that he could act on the duke's behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, and that H6 had been invited to Andrew's birthday party in 2020.

A letter referencing the birthday party from the adviser, Dominic Hampshire, was discovered on H6's devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News on Saturday that the Government "always respects the decisions of the courts" and would "not comment on individual cases" when asked if H6's anonymity should be lifted.

Ms Cooper added: "Our security and intelligence agencies are continually vigilant for any threat to UK national security, whether that be around foreign influence, whether it be around espionage, whether it be around any security threat.

"We won't hesitate to take action in individual cases or more widely wherever any challenge arises."

Read more: Suella Braverman leads calls for identity of 'Chinese spy’ linked to Prince Andrew to be revealed

Read more: 'Chinese spy' with close links to Prince Andrew banned from UK amid national security fears

In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Bourne, Judge Stephen Smith and Sir Stewart Eldon, dismissed the challenge.

It comes after the royal family reportedly took further steps over the summer to distance themselves from the disgraced duke, with the King said to have axed his £1 million annual "living allowance" and the security Charles had been privately funding for Andrew's home.

Professor Rana Mitter, ST Lee Professor of US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School and an expert in Chinese politics, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that part of Chinese spying strategy is to look for people who might be "influential over time" but are "in a bit of a doldrums".

He said the situation involving the Duke of York and H6 is "not so much about spying in the sense of trying to find out secrets, it's about trying to influence".

"Getting to know the elites of countries like Britain is a useful task not for immediate knowledge but maybe for long term development of links in society. It seems that's what has been going on here," Prof Mitter said.

"One of the things that quite often will happen is looking out for who may be influential over time, but perhaps is in a bit of a down spot, a bit of a doldrums.

"One of the best examples from a generation ago would have been President Richard Nixon, after he had to resign in disgrace over Watergate he was frequently invited to China." Andrew Lownie, who is writing a biography of the Duke and Sarah, Duchess of York, said the latest revelations involving the King's younger brother would impact the wider family and the "future of the monarchy", as he called for greater transparency around the the royals' finances.

He said: "The real scandals surrounding him are financial more than sexual.

"Given he cannot police his own activities and understand where the moral boundaries lie, it is time for proper scrutiny of his finances and a public register of royal interests.

"Judging from online comments to newspaper articles, this episode is highly damaging for the whole of the royal family whose finances and business activities should now be more transparent.

"Time, too, for the exemption for them in the Freedom of Information Act be removed and their wills not sealed.

"After recent scandals, I think this is a very serious moment for the future of the monarchy." Buckingham Palace and the Duke of York's office have been approached for comment.