King Charles ‘briefed by intelligence services’ over Prince Andrew’s friendship with ‘Chinese spy’ | EUROtoday

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King Charles has reportedly been briefed by British safety companies over his brother Prince Andrew’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.

The Duke of York has stated he “ceased all contact” with the businessman when considerations had been first raised about him, together with his workplace stating with that “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed” between them.

The businessman, recognized solely as H6, misplaced an attraction over a choice to bar him from getting into the UK on nationwide safety grounds, and was described as a “close confidante” of Andrew.

A royal supply informed The Mirror: “The King has been briefed about this situation regarding the suspected Chinese spy and is very aware of what has been and what is being done about it.”

It is the newest affiliation of the Duke of York’s to trigger controversy, after his affiliation with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein led to him being faraway from royal duties after conducting a disastrous interview with BBC Newsnight.

A press release from Andrew’s workplace stated: “The Duke of York followed advice from His Majesty’s Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.

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“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.”

Judges heard H6 shaped an in depth working relationship with Prince Andrew, receiving an invitation to his celebration in 2020 and being informed he may act on his behalf.

A letter referencing the celebration from the adviser, Dominic Hampshire, was found on H6’s units when he was stopped at a port in November 2021.

The letter additionally stated: “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.”

The businessman had introduced a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after then-home secretary Suella Braverman stated he must be excluded from the UK in March 2023.

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During a earlier listening to in July 2023, officers had claimed that H6 was ready to generate relationships between UK figures and Chinese officers that could possibly be “leveraged for political interference purposes”.

They additionally stated that H6 had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state, which mixed together with his relationship with Andrew, 64, represented a menace to nationwide safety.

In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Bourne, Judge Stephen Smith and Sir Stewart Eldon, dismissed the attraction problem.

In their 53-page ruling, the judges stated that Andrew may have been made “vulnerable” to the misuse of the affect H6 had.

They stated: “The applicant won a significant degree, one could say an unusual degree, of trust from a senior member of the Royal Family who was prepared to enter into business activities with him.

“That occurred in a context where, as the contemporaneous documents record, the duke was under considerable pressure and could be expected to value the applicant’s loyal support.

“It is obvious that the pressures on the duke could make him vulnerable to the misuse of that sort of influence.

“That does not mean that the Home Secretary could be expected to exclude from the UK any Chinese businessman who formed a commercial relationship with the duke or with any other member of the Royal Family.”