An alleged Chinese spy who developed an “unusual degree of trust” with the Duke of York will not be able to re-enter the country after Britain’s semi-secret National Security Court ruled.
The man, known only as H6 and described as a “close associate” of Prince Andrew, appealed his ban to the UK in March 2023.
Jurors heard the businessman received an invitation to Prince Andrew’s birthday party in 2020 and was told he could act on his behalf when dealing with potential investors in China.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment, saying only that they do not work for the prince, who is not a working royal.
H6 brought his case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, a court set up to hear appeals against decisions to ban or remove someone from the country on national security or related grounds.
i Order continuedThe judge said the then Home Secretary, Sylla Braverman, was entitled to reach that conclusion. [H6] represented a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom, and that it was entitled to conclude that its exclusion was justified and proportionate.”
The ruling explained that the man was the subject of a high-level national security investigation because Britain’s intelligence agencies feared he was seeking influence over a member of the royal family.
It is unclear how the H6 came to be near the prince but in November 2021, police officers stopped him at the UK border and questioned him to investigate suspicions of “hostile activity” by a foreign state.
During this stop, H6 surrendered several electronic devices, including a mobile phone.
What the officers found on him was so alarming to the security service MI5 that Braverman then used his extraordinary powers to ban H6 from the country.
In a letter found on one of her devices, the counselor told her: “Out of it [the prince’s] The closest inner confidant, you sit right at the top of a tree that many people would love to live on.”
It added: “Under your guidance, we found a way to keep concerned people in and out of the house at Windsor unnoticed.”
The excerpt from the letter included in the order did not provide any further details about who the “persons concerned” were.
The adviser also confirmed to H6 that he could be working on discussions “with potential partners and investors in China” for Prince Andrew.
A document listing “main talking points” for a call with Prince Andrew was also found.
It says: “Important: manage expectations. It’s really important not to set ‘too high’ expectations – he’s in a desperate situation and will grab anything.”
The court surmised that this meant that H6 was “in a position to develop relationships between senior Chinese officials and prominent UK figures which could be exploited by the Chinese state for the purposes of political interference”.
Security chiefs feared Beijing was trying to launch an “arrest of elites” operation to influence the Duke of York as he was under pressure, a tactic aimed at high-ranking Chinese businesses, think tanks or universities. The profile is to deploy individuals.
H6 was later informed that British authorities believed he was associated with the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tasked with carrying out influence operations.
The ruling said that MI5’s director-general, Ken McCallum, had expressed concern about the threat posed to the UK by political interference from China and that organizations such as the UFWD were “patient, well-funded, bought and sold”. Running a fraudulent campaign to sell.”
The Home Office said it believed H6 was engaged in covert and fraudulent activities on behalf of the CCP and that his relationship with Prince Andrew could be used for political interference.
Upholding Braverman’s decision, the judges said H6 had “earned extraordinary trust from a senior member of the royal family who was willing to engage in business activities with him”.
He added that the relationship had developed at a time when the prince was “under a lot of pressure” which would have made him “susceptible to this kind of abuse of influence”.
In a statement, the Chinese embassy in the UK criticized “baseless ‘spy’ stories targeting China”.
“Their aim is to defame China and disrupt normal exchanges between Chinese and British officials,” it said.
China supports “people-to-people and cultural exchanges” with other countries.
The embassy also urged Britain to “stop causing trouble” and “stop spreading the so-called ‘China threat’ theory”.
Prince Andrew has previously been Britain’s trade envoy, but Left the role in 2011 after 10 years. The company came under fire from critics, including the late American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
He has previously been dogged by questions about his judgment and his finances – an issue that has undermined his status as a royal.
In November 2019, Prince Andrew Relinquished royal duties. Amid growing public anger about her friendship with Epstein.
There were questions. Picked up later about his finances after he reached a settlement — believed to be in the millions — in a civil sexual assault lawsuit brought against him by Virginia Gaffray, who accused Epstein of was one of the accusers. The prince has always denied assaulting Ms Geoffrey.
His finances have come under scrutiny recently. King Charles is no longer funding it, and there is speculation about the costs of running the Royal Lodge – the security bill alone is thought to be several million pounds a year.
The big picture of Prince Andrew’s finances is full of unknowns, such as how much he may have inherited from his mother or how much private money he may have amassed during his ambassadorial days.
Former security minister Tom Tugendhat described Prince Andrew’s association with the Chinese businessman as “deeply embarrassing”, but told the BBC that the Chinese state aims to “gain influence over foreign countries in a variety of places,” including Great Britain
He said the UFWD was seeking influence in the UK in the social, educational, industrial and financial sectors and that China had “often been involved in espionage”.
He added that in this case it was possible that the goal could be to secure influence and “get someone to say something, do something, or maybe just host an event where you’re close to somebody.” can you want to stress”.