A SUSPECTED Chinese spy who was friends with Prince Andrew has been unmasked for the first time.
Yang Tengbo, 50 – who is understood to have been a “close confidante” of the Duke of York – can be named after a court anonymity ban was lifted this afternoon.
Andrew alongside Yang during the final of Pitch@Palace China in Shenzhen[/caption]
During a tribunal hearing, judges concluded Yang had not been honest about his links to the Chinese state and could exploit his relationship with the duke and other public figures.
The former chairman of Hampton Group had been in the country for two decades.
Photos show him posing alongside ex-Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May, as well as the royal.
He was even invited to Andrew’s birthday party in 2020 and supported him through his recent scandals.
COURT APPEAL
But the suspected spy subsequently lost an appeal against a decision to ban him from the UK on national security grounds.
He was stopped by counter-terrorism services in 2021 and ordered to surrender his devices.
Court documents said Yang had split his time between China and the UK and told officials he considered this country his second home.
In February last year, he was “off-boarded” from a flight from Beijing to London and told the home secretary was in the process of examining the case to exclude him from the UK.
That order was made the following month, with his appeal against the decision rejected last week by a special immigration appeals tribunal.
Judges concluded Yang had not been honest about his links to the Chinese state and could exploit his relationship with the duke and other public figures.
Guy Vassall-Adams KC, for Yang, told the High Court: “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.”
Yang said he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”, adding in a statement that the “widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue”.
ROYAL LODGE
It comes after the Sun reported last week a foreign agent knew how to sneak people in and out of the duke’s Royal Lodge home.
The shock revelation emerged in a letter from one of the royal’s top advisers, Dominic Hampshire, to the spy.
Mr Hampshire continued to work for Andrew even after the note was found by MI5 on the spy’s phone in 2020.
It read: “I hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal (Andrew) and indeed his family.
“You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship.
“You sit at the very top of a tree many people would like to be on.”
Tengbo Yang’s full statement
In a statement issued on his behalf, Mr Yang said he had done “nothing wrong or unlawful” and descriptions of him as an alleged spy were “entirely untrue”.
The statement said he had voluntarily waived his right to anonymity.
Mr Yang 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.
“This is why I applied for a review of the Home Office decision in the first place, and why I am seeking permission to appeal the SIAC decision.
“It is also why an order extending my anonymity up to the point of determination of the appeal process was granted.
“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.
“The political climate has changed, and unfortunately, I have fallen victim to this.
“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.
“I am an independent self-made entrepreneur and I have always aimed to foster partnerships and build bridges between East and West.
“I have dedicated my professional life in the UK to building links between British and Chinese businesses.
“My activities have played a part in bringing hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the UK.
“I built my private life in the UK over two decades and love the country as my second home. I would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK.”
It added: “Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor.”
Mr Hampshire also confirmed the man could act for Andrew in talks with Chinese investors.
The note was sent 10 months after the duke withdrew from public life after paying damages to Virginia Roberts-Giuffre, a victim of his US paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein.
A source told The Sun: “Dom was still working for the duke until at least April this year.
“It’s hard to believe, given that Andrew must have known for years that his Chinese links had become a matter of national security.”
By allowing a Chinese spy inside royal residences like Windsor and Buckingham Palace he endangered the security of the whole Royal Family and the institution of the monarchy.
Phil Dampier
A statement from the duke’s office on Friday said “nothing of a sensitive nature [was] ever discussed”.
The statement added: “The Duke of York followed advice from HMG and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.
“The duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed.
“He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
Writing for the Sun, royal expert Phil Dampier said: “By allowing a Chinese spy inside royal residences like Windsor and Buckingham Palace he endangered the security of the whole Royal Family and the institution of the monarchy.”
