The Duke of York was seen by the Chinese state as a “valuable communication channel”, newly-released court papers claim.
The documents, reported by The Sunday Times, claim the MI5 questioned Prince Andrew’s most senior aide about their relationship with alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo.
Andrew first met the Chinese businessman in 2013 at a reception during the Shanghai Grand Prix, hosted by Sir Ron Dennis, the former head of McLaren.
Reports of their dealings appeared in documents released by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) on January 31.
The disclosures follow Yang’s failure to overturn a decision by Suella Braverman, then Home Secretary, to ban him from Britain on national security grounds. British intelligence officials believe that Yang is linked to the United Front Work Department (UFWD), an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) involved in political interference abroad. He denies any wrongdoing or being a spy.
In a statement issued after the ruling at the Royal Court of Justices, the 50-year-old said he had “done nothing wrong or unlawful”, adding in a statement that the “widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue”.
Alleged evidence against him came to light after Yang was stopped under counterterrorism laws at Heathrow in November 2021.
The Sunday Times reports that among the documents found on his mobile phone and laptop was a crib sheet for a planned call between Yang and ‘TD’ [the duke]. This claims that China’s ambassador to London, Zheng Zeguang, regarded the Prince as a “valuable communication channel”.
Other documents reportedly included a letter to Yang from Andrew’s senior adviser, on Buckingham Palace-headed notepaper. Dated March 30, 2020, it suggested that he had been in contact with Yang “directly or indirectly on an almost daily basis for what is now just over five months”.
The Sunday Times reported in December that Yang also met two Conservative prime ministers, David Cameron and Theresa May. He was also invited to Downing Street in 2013 and 2014 for receptions to mark the Chinese New Year, and to charity dinners.
In a previous rare statement, Andrew’s office said he severed ties with Yang. His office said in December 2024: “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.”
Recently, Prince Andrew has faced further controversy with his relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein. Emails from a separate legal case appear to claim that the duke remained in contact with Epstein for several weeks longer than he admitted in his 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis.
Andrew told the BBC that he had severed all ties with Epstein in December 2010, but an email he wrote two months later said: “Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
