Alleged
Chinese spy Yang Tengbo says he 'did nothing wrong' as he issues statement over
links to Prince Andrew
Alleged
Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who forged links with the Duke of York and mixed with
other British establishment figures, insisted he has "done nothing wrong
or unlawful".
Faye Brown
Political reporter @fayebrownSky
Monday 16 December 2024 16:38, UK
The alleged Chinese spy with links to Prince Andrew has said
he did "nothing wrong or unlawful" - as he was named publicly for the
first time.
In a statement, Yang Tengbo added that the "widespread
description of me as a 'spy' is entirely untrue".
It comes after the High Court lifted restrictions on naming
the businessman, previously described as a "close confidant" of the
royal, earlier this afternoon.
Until now he was only known publicly as "H6" after
a court imposed an anonymity order.
Mr Yang said he asked his legal team to disclose his
identity "due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the
media".
Last week he lost an appeal over a decision to bar him from
entering the UK on national security grounds.
Who is Yang Tengbo?
What we know about the Chinese 'spy' with links to Prince Andrew
Mr Yang said: "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."
He claimed he was a victim of a "political
climate" which had seen a rise in tensions between the UK and China.
"When relations are good, and Chinese investment is
sought, I am welcome in the UK," he said.
"When relations sour, an anti-China stance is taken,
and I am excluded."
Pressure had been mounting for Mr Yang to be named after
last week's court ruling.
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, had threatened
to use parliamentary privilege to reveal his identity in the House of Commons
this afternoon..
Parliamentary privilege allows MPs to speak freely during
parliamentary proceedings without fear of legal action.
Guy Vassall-Adams KC, for Mr Yang, told the High Court that
threats to name his client in parliament were part of the reason he decided to
apply to lift the anonymity order.
He said: "There has been an enormous amount of media
reporting in relation to this story, and particularly in relation to the
relationship between my client, H6, and Prince Andrew, as well as a huge amount
of speculation about the identity of my client."
Lifting his anonymity, Judge Mr Justice Chamberlain said:
"It seems to me that these proceedings now serve no further purpose."
Yang pictured with former prime ministers
Mr Yang was invited to Prince Andrew's birthday party in
2020, and was told by royal aide Dominic Hampshire he could act on the duke's
behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, a tribunal heard in July
this year.
On Friday, Prince Andrew said he "ceased all
contact" with the Chinese businessman.
In a statement from his office, the Duke of York said he had
cut ties following "advice" from officials but insisted the pair had
never discussed anything of a "sensitive nature".
Mr Yang had previously also been pictured alongside former
prime ministers - including David Cameron and Theresa May.
Both Lord Cameron and Lady May's spokespeople told Sky News
at the weekend they meet and are photographed with many people each year.
A spokeswoman for Ms May said: "Baroness May and her
husband, Sir Philip, are photographed at numerous events in any given year.
"As such, she doesn't remember when or where this
particular photograph was taken or the man in question."
A source close to Lord Cameron said: "David Cameron was
leader of the Conservative Party for over a decade and PM for six years.
"He met thousands of people in that time at hundreds of
functions and events. We don't have any further information about this
individual."
China 'UK's most prominent security threat'
The anonymity lift came shortly before former Tory leader
Sir Iain Duncan Smith raised an urgent question in the Commons about the
Chinese spying group Mr Yang is said to belong to, the United Front Work
Department (UFWD).
Sir Iain said Mr Yang was "not a lone wolf" and
one of around 40,000 members of the UFWD.
He called for China to be put on the enhanced tier of the
foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS), which was established under the
Conservatives but is yet to be implemented.
The scheme would require those involved in promoting the
interests of other countries to declare themselves - but it won't commence
until the summer, home office minister Dan Jarvis confirmed this afternoon.
Sir Iain said there is "no need for delay", and
that the new Labour government must "accept now that China is our most
prominent security threat".
Mr Jarvis acknowledged the case of Mr Yang "does not
exist in a vacuum" and the UK is facing a breadth of "pernicious and
complex" threats from foreign states.
He echoed comments made by Sir Keir Starmer earlier, who
defended his approach for a "pragmatic" relationship with Beijing
despite saying it posed a "challenge".
Yang statement 'not worth paper it's written on'
Professor Anthony Glees, an intelligence and security expert
from the University of Buckingham, told Sky News that Prince Andrew
"unbeknown to himself" has "been a risk to our national
security".
He said Mr Yang's statement is "not worth the paper it
was written on" and that hostile states using "long-term
penetration" lasting decades is common.
He added: "In fact, there is an intelligence law in
China that says that every member of the Communist Party of China has a duty to
accept intelligence tasking if the state demands it of them."
A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said:
"China has always acted in an upright and honest manner and has never
engaged in any deception or interference, so it is not worthwhile to refute
this kind of groundless speculation which is based on one's own
judgement."
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