Alleged Chinese spy remains anonymous under High Court order

The businessman, only known as H6, was described by judges as having formed an ‘unusual degree’ of trust with Andrew.

Police officers outside the Royal Courts of Justice (PA) (PA Archive)

An alleged Chinese spy linked to the Duke of York remains anonymous under a High Court order, amid some MPs calling for him to be named.

The businessman, only known as H6, is banned from the UK and was described by judges as having formed an “unusual degree” of trust with Andrew.

H6 challenged his ban at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) in July, but lost his appeal last week.

The Chinese national, 50, had been due to be named after an anonymity order made in May 2023 was lifted by judges at the specialist tribunal.

However, the day before the judgment was due to be published, H6 made a successful bid at the High Court for a temporary block on being named.

The hearing on December 11, listed before Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Chamberlain, was held in private.

This means H6’s anonymity must be maintained until a further hearing at the High Court, or the end of any challenges at the Court of Appeal.

According to a court order published earlier this month, naming or otherwise identifying H6 in connection with the SIAC case is barred under section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act.

A breach of this could typically be considered as contempt of court, which can be punished with up to two years in prison and an unlimited fine.

However, MPs could seek to use parliamentary privilege – which gives MPs certain legal immunities over what they say in the Commons – to reveal H6’s identity.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party was prepared to name the alleged spy in the chamber, while Labour MP Graham Stringer also told the Mail on Sunday it was “ludicrous for this person to remain anonymous in the country he was allegedly spying on”.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp previously told LBC he was “extremely worried” about the case and that the court order protecting the man’s identity should be lifted so that “justice can be seen to be done”.

H6 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 SIAC 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.

Andrew “ceased all contact” with H6 when concerns were first raised about him, met him through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement from his office said.