Yang Tengbo: Who is alleged Chinese spy linked to Prince Andrew?

Yang Tengbo, a 50-year-old Chinese businessman, has been identified by British authorities as a suspected spy and banned from entering the UK. The British authorities claim that he established an "unusual level of trust" with Prince Andrew and developed relationships with some political figures, which could be "exploited" by China.

Details of the allegations against Mr. Yang were revealed last December when the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac), after a lengthy legal battle, upheld the Home Office's order to ban him from entering the UK on national security grounds. Previously, Mr. Yang had only been referred to by the code name "H6," and at his request, the anonymity order was lifted.

Mr. Yang stated that the allegations that he was a spy are "completely untrue" and denied any wrongdoing. So, what do we know about Mr. Yang's life and work?

Yang Tengbo, also known as Chris Yang, was born in 1974 in Chuxiong City, Yunnan Province, in southwestern China. He graduated from the Chinese Department of Yunnan University and worked as a junior official in a government department for seven years. Mr. Yang told the Siac court that he realized he needed more knowledge about public administration and management, which prompted him to study abroad. He first came to the UK in 2002, studying English in London for a year, before obtaining a master's degree in public administration and public policy from the University of York. He told the Siac court that he was once a member of the Chinese Communist Party but gave up his membership after moving to the UK.

In 2005, he founded the consulting firm Hampton International Group, one of five companies he has publicly registered in the UK. On May 21, 2013, he was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. He told the court that before the pandemic, he spent an average of up to two weeks per month in the UK. According to Chinese media reports, Mr. Yang is also the executive chairman of the British Chinese Business Association, where he acts as a "bridge" between Chinese and British companies, helping them enter each other's markets.

After his identity was revealed, he described the UK as his "second home" and said he would "never do anything to harm Britain." Like many people who have achieved success in China, he has also been involved in official government-related activities. In recent years, he has attended meetings of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, where he expressed his support for China's economy and international standing as a representative of overseas communities. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is a core consultative body of China's United Front system.

On November 6, 2021, Mr. Yang was stopped at the UK border for reasons that have not been made public. He handed over his mobile phone and other electronic devices. In February 2022, he filed a lawsuit to prevent the British government from retaining his data, which he initially won, but lost on appeal. Subsequently, he was informed that the British authorities believed he had links to the United Front Work Department (UFWD). The UFWD is the department of the Chinese government that organizes Beijing's cultural influence operations.

The UFWD has been linked to several cases of alleged Chinese government interference in Western countries. Researchers say it often tries to co-opt legitimate Chinese business and community organizations abroad. A year later, Mr. Yang was "asked off the plane" on a flight from Beijing back to London and was told that the UK was making a decision to ban him from entering the country. Mr. Yang's lawyers requested that the government disclose the allegations against him and give him a chance to present his side of the story.

On March 15, 2023, then Home Secretary Suella Braverman ordered the cancellation of Mr. Yang's residency permit. She banned him from entering the UK on the grounds that it was "in the public interest." Mr. Yang was informed of this on March 23, 2023, and filed a lawsuit shortly thereafter.

The Home Office's decision to ban Mr. Yang from entering the country was based in part on evidence revealed in a court ruling published in December. The authorities relied on data found on Mr. Yang's devices when he was stopped in 2021, including documents that British authorities said showed his links to the UFWD and other Beijing-linked groups. The British authorities believe that these documents show that he was in "regular contact with Chinese government officials." They also said that he had "at times deliberately concealed" his links to the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, and the UFWD, and claimed there were "elements of deception" in his statements.

The Home Office also argued that even if Mr. Yang said he had not received direct orders to interfere with British interests, "someone in his position should have been able to understand the aims of the UFWD and the Chinese Communist Party" and that he had "engaged with it proactively without being assigned." They also pointed out that Mr. Yang was a member of the 48 Group Club, a London-based organization that aims to promote trade between the UK and China. Security officials believe that Mr. Yang's honorary membership may have been exploited by Beijing for political interference.

In response to Radio Free Asia, a US-funded media outlet, the 48 Group Club stated that Mr. Yang had never been actively involved in the club's operations. Although the court ruled that in some cases the evidence against Mr. Yang was not "sufficient" and stated that there may be "innocent explanations" in other cases, it ultimately ruled that there was "sufficient" material to justify MI5's conclusion that he posed a threat to security. Mr. Yang has stated that he will appeal the ruling.

Mr. Yang first met the Duke of York in 2014, when he was introduced by the Prince's private secretary, Amanda Thirsk. He attended a dinner at St James's Palace celebrating Chinese entrepreneurs in the UK and later became involved in Pitch@Palace, a program set up by the Prince to support entrepreneurs. Mr. Yang was considered key to launching its Chinese version - Pitch@Palace China, which also received the support of the Chinese government.

British authorities found a letter from Prince Andrew's senior advisor, Dominic Hampshire, stating that Mr. Yang could represent the Prince in engaging with potential investors in China. Hampshire also told Mr. Yang in the letter: "Apart from (the Prince's) closest inner circle, you sit at the top of a tree that many people want to climb." It is unclear whether this was a genuine assertion made by Hampshire, who has not spoken publicly since being named in the ruling.

But the Home Office assessment was that this demonstrated Mr. Yang's ability to "create connections between prominent people in the UK and senior officials in China," and that Beijing "could exploit these connections for political interference." Prince Andrew stated that he had "ceased all contact with Mr. Yang" after receiving advice from the government, but did not specify when he had stopped communicating. His office said they had met through "official channels" and that they had "never discussed anything of a sensitive nature."

In another incident that demonstrated Mr. Yang's friendship with the Prince, court case documents disclosed to the media on Friday showed that Hampshire had privately admitted to the Chinese businessman that the Duke's interview on BBC Newsnight about his connections to sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein was "unwise." Prince Andrew's aide also thanked Mr. Yang for his support of the Duke.

The letter, written in March 2020 on official Buckingham Palace letterhead, also stated: "Under your guidance, we have found a way to get the relevant people in and out of Windsor Castle unnoticed. We carefully orchestrated a very powerful verbal message in support of China at the Chinese New Year dinner, and between the three of us, we have written, revised, and then always agreed on many letters at the highest level." Mr. Yang told the Siac court that he had never had any private meetings with the Duke without staff present, nor had he ever contacted him directly by phone or email.

Mr. Yang strongly denied the allegations against him. According to documents disclosed on Friday, Mr. Yang told the Siac court that although he had been a member of the Chinese Communist Party, he had never been instructed to interfere with British interests. In further statements, he also said that his links to the Chinese government were limited and that "contact with the UFWD was unavoidable."

Mr. Yang stated that he has become a victim of the new political climate in the UK, which is taking a tougher stance against China. Mr. Yang told the Siac court that he "admired and respected" the Duke's support for Chinese entrepreneurs and that all meetings were conducted with the knowledge of Buckingham Palace. In a new statement on January 31, Mr. Yang stated that the allegations against him were "completely unfounded and I have done nothing wrong."

He said he was seeking to overturn the UK court's decision to reject his appeal and described the UK's dealings with China as "inconsistent and unstable." He said: "The inherent injustice of the (court) process means that I am unable to know all the allegations and evidence against me." "As a self-made entrepreneur, I have built a successful career promoting trade and investment between the UK and China."

"I was educated at a UK university, I am a UK taxpayer, and my activities have brought significant investment and employment to the UK." "Entrepreneurial success stories like this should be encouraged and celebrated, not punished." A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said last December that "such unjust hype is not worth refuting," adding in a statement last week that "some people in the UK are always eager to fabricate unfounded 'spy' stories against China."

_Reported by BBC Verify and Wang Fan_