Who is Yang Tengbo? Everything we find out about H6 alleged Chinese spy who was shut confidant of Prince Andrew | EUROtoday

An alleged Chinese spy on the coronary heart of the most recent scandal to engulf Prince Andrew has been named as Yang Tengbo.

The 50-year-old businessman was barred from the UK in 2023 as a result of authorities felt he was more likely to pose a risk to nationwide safety.

Mr Yang was named after days of rising strain from MPs demanding he must be recognized following a court docket order that was issued defending his anonymity.

He has now insisted he has carried out “nothing wrong” and rejected allegations of being a spy as “entirely untrue”.

Here, The Independent takes a take a look at who Mr Yang is and the allegations surrounding him and the Royal Family.

Who is alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo?

Born in 1974, Mr Yang studied at college in China and labored as a junior civil servant for a variety of years, in accordance with the judgment.

In 2002, he moved to the UK and studied a grasp’s diploma in public administration and public coverage on the University of York.

Three years later Mr Yang based a Chinese funding consultancy enterprise which might go on to determine numerous high-profile China-related occasions.

What are the allegations in opposition to him?

In 2021, Mr Yang was detained underneath the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act – the place he was pressured to give up his cell phone and laptop.

The Home Office alleged correspondence was unearthed displaying he labored for the United Front Work Department (UFWD) – a shadowy arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

On this foundation, former dwelling secretary Suella Braverman barred him from the UK – however Mr Yang later appealed to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

What is his connection to Prince Andrew?

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission dismissed Mr Yang’s enchantment on Thursday – which made his case public.

The judgment cited proof supplied by the Home Office alleging Mr Yang was a detailed confidant of Prince Andrew and was in a position to act on his behalf with traders in China.

Later studies instructed he used this connection to safe invites to Buckingham Palace and different royal residences.

He additionally met David Cameron at a Downing Street reception and Theresa May at a black-tie occasion, maintaining pictures of each encounters, which happened over the past 15 years, in accordance with the The Sunday Times.

Mr Yang based a Chinese funding consultancy enterprise in 2005 which might go on to determine numerous high-profile China-related occasions.

What has Mr Yang mentioned in regards to the allegations?

Mr Yang mentioned he had “done nothing wrong or unlawful” and the “widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue”.

He mentioned: “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.”