Spy accused Chinese businessman was invited to Buckingham Palace by duke

The businessman accused of being a Chinese spy was invited to Buckingham Palace by the Duke of York, it has been reported.

The businessman accused of being a Chinese spy was invited to Buckingham Palace by the Duke of York, it has been reported.

The man – who was banned from Britain by the Government on national security grounds – visited Buckingham Palace twice, and also entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle at the invitation of Prince Andrew, The Times reported.

On Friday, the duke said he “ceased all contact” with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy when concerns were first raised about him.

Andrew met the individual through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement from his office said.

The businessman 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.

Several newspapers have reported that the King has been briefed about his brother’s links to the alleged spy.

Ms Braverman has called for the man – known only as H6 – to lose his anonymity, the Telegraph has reported, as a “deterrent to others taking part in similar activities”.

Judges were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed H6 had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials “that could be leveraged for political interference purposes”.

They also said H6 had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state, which combined with his relationship with Andrew, 64, represented a threat to national security.

At a hearing in July, the specialist tribunal heard the businessman was told by an adviser to Andrew that he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, and that H6 had been invited to Andrew’s birthday party in 2020.

A letter referencing the birthday party from the adviser, Dominic Hampshire, was discovered on H6’s devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News on Saturday that the Government “always respects the decisions of the courts” and would “not comment on individual cases” when asked if H6’s anonymity should be lifted.

Ms Cooper added: “Our security and intelligence agencies are continually vigilant for any threat to UK national security, whether that be around foreign influence, whether it be around espionage, whether it be around any security threat.

“We won’t hesitate to take action in individual cases or more widely wherever any challenge arises.”

Published: 14/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub