Suspected Chinese spy with business ties to Prince Andrew barred from UK

A Chinese national suspected of being a spy with business ties to Prince Andrew has been banned from entering the UK due to perceived threats to national security. The UK Immigration Tribunal upheld this decision on Thursday, with the ruling revealing that the Chinese citizen developed a close relationship with Prince Andrew, even being invited to the Prince's birthday party.

Government officials are concerned that this individual may have abused their influence, as the ruling stated that the Prince was under "enormous pressure" at the time. British authorities believe that the unnamed Chinese citizen was working on behalf of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, an organization aimed at influencing foreign entities. The government determined that the businessman "was able to establish connections between senior Chinese officials and prominent figures in the UK, connections that the Chinese government could use for political interference."

Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, has been repeatedly criticized for his ties to wealthy foreigners, raising concerns that these individuals are attempting to buy access to the Royal Family. In recent years, Andrew's financial situation has become increasingly strained, after he was forced to step down from royal duties and relinquish public funding due to his relationship with American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. British intelligence chiefs have become increasingly concerned about China's efforts to influence UK government policy.

In 2022, MI5, the UK's domestic intelligence agency, warned politicians that a British-Chinese lawyer had been attempting to improperly influence members of parliament for years. In 2023, a parliamentary researcher was arrested on suspicion of providing sensitive information to China. The 50-year-old Chinese citizen involved in this week's ruling is described as having worked as a junior civil servant in China before arriving in the UK as a student in 2002. He obtained a master's degree in public administration and public policy from the University of York before establishing a consultancy business that served British companies operating in China.

He was granted the right to live and work in the UK indefinitely in 2013. Although he did not make the UK his permanent residence, the individual told authorities that he spent one to two weeks per month in the country and considered the UK his "second home." He was stopped upon entering the UK on November 6, 2021, and ordered to hand over his phone and other digital devices, on which authorities found a letter from a senior advisor to Prince Andrew, confirming he was authorized to act on the Prince's behalf in matters involving potential partners and investors in China. "I also want you to be clear about the relationship that you have with my principal and his family," the advisor wrote, "You should never underestimate the strength of this relationship. You are at the top of a tree that many people would like to climb, other than his closest inner circle."

The letter also described how they had found a way to bypass the Prince's former private secretary and others they did not fully trust. "Under your guidance, we found a way for the relevant people to come and go from the Windsor house without attracting attention," the advisor wrote. Andrew lives at Royal Lodge, a historic country estate near Windsor Castle, west of London.