Chinese ‘spy’ live updates: Agent linked to Prince Andrew named as MP warns Yang Tengbo ‘was not a lone wolf’
A judge has lifted an anonymity order for alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo who was linked to Prince Andrew
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Your support makes all the difference.An alleged Chinese spy banned from the UK and linked to the Duke of York can now be named as Yang Tengbo, a High Court judge has ruled.
The 50-year-old director of a Chinese investment consultancy firm was barred from the UK in 2023 after it was deemed he would likely threaten national security.
A High Court judge has now lifted an anonymity order so he can now be identified.
The suspect is said to have become a “close” confidant of the Duke of York and has also been pictured with senior politicians including Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May.
Former Conservative leader Sir Ian Duncan Smit told the House of Commons Tengbo “was not a lone wolf”.
“He was one of some 40,000 members of the United Works Department, which the intelligence security committee report last year said and I quote ‘are known to government, had penetrated every sector of the UK economy, spying, stealing intellectual property, influencing and shaping our institutions,” he said.
Security minister Dan Jarvis said the government will not hesitate to use “every tool at our disposal” to keep the UK safe.
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Yang Tengbo’s consultancy firm helped broker Prince Andrews’ former school expansion into China
Top UK boarding school Gordonstoun – where King Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Phillip were educated – signed a deal with the alleged Chinese spy’s firm to open campuses in China.
Gordonstoun entered a partnership with the Hampton Group, a consultancy firm run by Yang Tengbo, to open up to five schools in China and Hong Kong.
A statement issued by the school in 2019 said: “In an important moment in Gordonstoun’s history, the first Gordonstoun school in China which is expected to open in 2022 has been announced. The location of the first school will be announced soon and will be chosen to enable access to green spaces and the sea both key features of a Gordonstoun education.
“This is part of a long-term multi-school agreement with Hampton Group, a specialist in fostering closer bonds between the UK and China.”
It added: “In the Hampton Group, we feel that we have found the right partner to help us introduce the unique Gordonstoun approach to China. Their commitment to character development in education shone through from the first meeting and we have been encouraged by all we have seen and heard from them in the intervening months.”
The Chinese school was initially earmarked to open in 2022, but the project was stalled due to the pandemic.
The Hampton Group, a British company founded by Yang Tengbo, provides consulting and events services to British and Chinese companies. Tengbo is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the UK business, the company said.
The foreign secretary has said he is content “the system” had acted “appropriately” in response to allegations about Chinese spies.
Discussing wider allegations about Chinese attempts to spy on the UK, he told a press conference in London: “This is an issue I raised when I was in Beijing.
“I am content that the system, in response to what we have found, has acted appropriately on behalf of the British people.”
Profile: Who is Yang Tengbo? Everything we know about alleged Chinese spy who was close confidant of Prince Andrew
Who is Yang Tengbo? Everything we know about alleged Chinese spy
Yang Tengbo insisted he has done ‘nothing wrong’ and rejected allegations of being a spy as ‘entirely untrue’
Lammy: China among the states that pose a threat to UK
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Yang Tengbo’s case “does not exist, sadly, in a vacuum” and China was among the states that pose a “threat” to the UK.
At a press conference in London, Mr Lammy said: “On China, I welcome the court’s decision to uphold the Home Office’s position on Yang’s exclusion.
“And where individuals pose a threat, as you would expect, the UK Government is absolutely committed to using the full range of powers available to disrupt them.
“I raised these issues when I was in Beijing a few weeks ago.
“This case does not exist, sadly, in a vacuum. The UK is in the most complex threat environment that we’ve seen for a very significant time, including terrorism and states – including China, Iran and Russia – that pose a threat to us.
“Six individuals have been charged under our National Security Act to date. So we recognise the threat, we’ve raised it with the Chinese government, and we will act wherever we need to.”
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Scheme to protect UK from covert foreign influence to begin summer 2025, minister says
A scheme designed to protect the UK from covert foreign influence will commence in summer 2025, according to the Government.
The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (Firs) was initially expected to come into force in 2024, but in August the new Labour Government confirmed a delay to its implementation.
Security minister Dan Jarvis said the Government now plans to lay the regulations in Parliament in the new year and they will take effect from the summer.
Firs is designed to combat clandestine political activity by foreign agents in the UK.
The scheme would require individuals to disclose who they are in an arrangement with, what activity they have been directed to undertake, and when the arrangement was made.
The enhanced tier gives ministers the power to require registration of a broader range of activities for specified countries, parts of countries or foreign government-controlled entities “where this is necessary to protect the safety of interests of the UK”, according to the Home Office.
Prince Andrew to step away from King’s private Norfolk residence
It is understood Andrew will stay away from the King’s private Norfolk residence after the controversy surrounding alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK and had forged links to the Duke of York.
It is not yet known whether the duke will attend Charles’s traditional pre-Christmas lunch for the extended family on Thursday, which is expected to be held at Buckingham Palace.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie had already planned to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws this year for the first time.
Watchdog probe urged into alleged Chinese spy linked to Duke of York
A spy watchdog has been urged at Westminster to investigate an alleged Chinese secret agent linked to the Duke of York and other espionage claims levelled at Beijing.
Speaking in Parliament, as peers approved nominations for the ISC, which oversees the work of the UK’s spy agencies, Labour former minister Lord Foulkes of Cumnock said: “I wonder if it would be appropriate at this time to ask if it would be possible for the Intelligence and Security Committee to conduct an investigation into H6 and all the allegations of spying from China?”
Responding, leader of the Lords Baroness Smith of Basildon, said: “I don’t think it’s for the Lord Privy Seal to instruct the Intelligence and Security Committee on their business or how they conduct it but I am sure they will have taken note of the reports and are fully aware of the situation and will do whatever is appropriate.”
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