Prince Andrew's adviser banned from entering Britain for spying for China

An alleged Chinese intelligence officer who conducted business with Prince Andrew, Duke of York, has been banned from entering the United Kingdom on national security grounds. This was reported by The Times on December 12.

According to the publication, the man, whose name is not called, had close communication with Prince Andrew, acted on his behalf in the search for investors in China, and was also invited to a party in honor of the birthday of a member of the royal family in 2021. At the same time, the alleged spy came to the attention of UK law enforcement officials, and 2021 was stopped at a border control checkpoint upon entering the United Kingdom under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Law enforcement officials examined the contents of his phone.

The Times notes that in February 2023, the businessman was removed from a Beijing to London flight as a decision was awaited from the UK Foreign Office regarding the travel ban. The UK authorities had blacklisted the businessman. The newspaper pointed out that he tried to challenge the ban through the immigration appeal board, but there he was denied.

The publication reports that the man was a civil servant in China, and in 2002 moved to London to study English. He later completed a master's degree at York University, where he studied public administration. In 2005, the businessman founded a company to provide consulting services to British firms operating in the Chinese market. It was only in 2013 that he was granted UK residency.

The British counterintelligence service MI5 reported that the businessman was actually a member of the Communist Party of China and worked for the patriotic united front of the Chinese people, which is allegedly engaged in intelligence gathering. The businessman himself denies involvement in these associations.

Earlier, on June 15, the British Ministry of Defense suspected in espionage Chinese supplier of army emblems for military headgear. The Financial Times noted that representatives of Western intelligence agencies were divided into two camps in assessing London's suspicions. Some believe that the badges should definitely be made in Britain, while others call the Defense Ministry's fears far-fetched.

Shortly before that, on June 3, China's Ministry of State Security said that the British secret intelligence service MI6 had recruited two employees of unnamed Chinese central government agencies in favor of Britain.