Andrew aide told alleged Chinese spy that Newsnight interview was ill advised

A senior adviser to the Duke of York told an alleged Chinese spy later banned from the UK that Andrew’s Newsnight interview had been “ill advised”, newly released documents show.

Tribunal documents made available on Friday show that aide Dominic Hampshire thanked Yang Tengbo for standing by Andrew following the 2019 interview over his relationship with late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“We have dealt with the aftermath of a hugely ill-advised and unsuccessful television interview,” Mr Hampshire told Mr Yang in a letter on Buckingham Palace stationery in March 2020.

It continued: “We have wisely navigated our way around former Private Secretaries and we have found a way to carefully remove those people who we don’t completely trust.”

The 50-year-old Chinese businessman previously 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.

Judges upheld the decision to bar him from entering the UK on national security grounds, though Mr Yang is now seeking to appeal against SIAC’s decision.

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

The letter from Mr Hampshire, which also referenced the birthday party, was discovered on Mr Yang’s devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021.

The letter also said: “I also hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family.

“You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship… Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.”

It continued: “Over the last few months, I have, possibly been partially responsible for, and watched numerous people disappear from his network either because they are simply not true to their word or they are ‘red carpet chasers’.

“I could list several high-profile and well-known names who are no longer around us and there are a very small number left – you remain as one of those.”

Mr Hampshire said that an invitation extended to Mr Yang to the duke’s birthday “was not an engagement or an exclusive dinner” but was “strictly his and his family’s personal life that very, very few people have the privilege to ever be a part of”.

Tribunal judges were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed Mr Yang had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials “that could be leveraged for political interference purposes”.

A police port intelligence report also released on Friday, dated November 7 2021, said that Mr Yang was stopped and questioned at Heathrow Airport after flying from Paris.

An officer said in the report that Mr Yang “states he is a well-respected individual by China and the UK for his achievements in business”.

The report continued: “He stated he can understand why the west is suspicious of a one-government party as he is aware of how the governments work in Europe and US.”

It continued: “But as he states, whilst a country is starting to grow you need one lead to push in a direction. If you had many parties debating what move to take it will take years to achieve the same end result.”

On Friday, Mr Yang said in a statement that “the allegations against me are entirely unfounded, I have done nothing wrong” and that he was seeking to overturn the SIAC’s decision to refuse his initial appeal.

He continued: “The inherent unfairness of the SIAC process means I am unable to know all the allegations and evidence against me.

“I have followed that process in good faith and provided full disclosure of all my business and personal affairs under an anonymity order on the understanding it was confidential.

“The UK’s position on its dealings with China is inconsistent and erratic.

“In the weeks since the media circus surrounding the publication of the SIAC decision against me, the UK’s Chancellor has met with Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng in Beijing, saying ‘choosing not to engage with China is no choice at all’ while a member of her delegation said ‘a stable and balanced relationship with China is vital for UK growth, jobs, and prosperity’.

“This can only happen with the involvement of members of the business community like me.

“As a self-made entrepreneur, I have built a successful career facilitating trade and investment between the UK and China.

“I was educated at a British university, I’m a UK taxpayer, and my activities have led to significant investment and job creation in the UK.

“Stories of entrepreneurial success like this should be encouraged and celebrated, not punished.”

Published: 31/01/2025 by Radio NewsHub