LONDON — A suspected Chinese spy with business ties to Prince Andrew has been barred from the UK over fears he poses a threat to national security.
A British immigration court upheld the ruling on Thursday, revealing that the Chinese national had developed such a close relationship with Andrew that he was invited to the prince’s birthday party. Government officials feared the man had abused his influence because the prince was then under “considerable pressure”, according to the ruling.
British authorities believe the Chinese national, whose name has not been released, was working on behalf of the United Front Work Department, a branch of the Chinese Communist Party used to influence foreign entities.
The government determined that the businessman “was able to establish relationships between senior Chinese officials and prominent British figures that could be exploited for political interference by the Chinese state,” according to the court’s decision.
Prince Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, has been repeatedly criticized for his ties to wealthy foreigners, sparking concerns that these individuals are trying to buy access to the royal family.
Andrew’s finances have come under strain in recent years after he was forced to step back from royal duties and forgo public funding due to concerns over his relationship with Jeffrey Epsteinthe American financier and convicted pedophile who committed suicide in prison in 2019.
British intelligence chiefs are increasingly concerned about China’s efforts to influence British government policy. In 2022, Britain’s domestic intelligence service, known as MI5, warned politicians that an Anglo-Chinese lawyer sought to unduly influence MPs for years. A parliamentary researcher was arrested in 2023, suspected of providing sensitive information to China.
The 50-year-old Chinese national targeted by this week’s ruling was described as a man who worked as a junior civil servant in China before coming to the UK as a student in 2002. He completed a master’s degree in public administration and in public policy. at the University of York before setting up a business advising UK-based businesses on their operations in China.
He was granted the right to live and work in the UK indefinitely in 2013. Although he did not make Britain his permanent home, the man told authorities he was passing one to two weeks per month in the country and that he considered it his country. “secondary residence”.
He was arrested as he entered the UK on November 6, 2021 and ordered to surrender his mobile phone and other digital devices on which authorities found a letter from a senior adviser to Andrew confirming that he was authorized to act on behalf of the prince in relation to potential partners and investors in China.
The letter and other documents highlighted the strength of the relationship between Andrew, his adviser and the Chinese national.
“I also hope that you are clear where you stand with my principal and his family,” the advisor wrote. “The strength of this relationship should never be underestimated. Outside of your closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many people would love to be on.
The letter then described how they found a way around the prince’s former private secretaries and others who were not entirely trusted.
“Under your leadership, we found a way to get affected people in and out of the house unnoticed in Windsor,” the advisor wrote.
Andrew lives at Royal Lodge, a historic estate near Windsor Castle in west London.