Prince Andrew says he has “ceased all communications” with the alleged Chinese spy

Prince Andrew said he had “ceased all contact” with a businessman accused of being a Chinese spy after receiving advice from the government.

His office said in a statement that Prince Andrew met the man “through official channels” and there was “nothing of a sensitive nature discussed at all.”

The alleged spy was subsequently banned from the UK A ruling by the UK's semi-secret National Security Court.

The man, known only as H6, was described in court as a “close confidant” of Prince Andrew who formed an “extraordinary degree of trust” with the duke.

In 2023, H6 filed an appeal against its initial ban, but the court upheld the decision.

Judges were told the businessman was trying to capitalize on Prince Andrew's influence.

The duke's office said it was “unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”

He did not specify in his statements when he stopped contacting the man or the duration of their contact.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment, saying they were not acting for the prince, who is not a working royal.

China's embassy in the UK denied the spying allegations, saying that “some individuals in the UK are always keen to fabricate baseless 'espionage' stories targeting China.”

An embassy spokesman said: “Their aim is to discredit China and disrupt normal exchanges between Chinese and British staff.”

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman banned the H6 from the UK in March 2023.

He then took his case to the Immigration Appeals Commission, a tribunal set up to hear appeals against decisions to ban or remove someone from the country on national security or related grounds.

in Published rulingThe justices upheld Braverman's decision.

The court was told that H6 was invited to attend Prince Andrew's birthday party in 2020 and was told he could act on his behalf when dealing with potential investors in China.

It is not clear how H6 became close to the prince, but in November 2021, he was stopped and questioned by police officers at the UK border under investigative powers into suspicions of “hostile activity” by a foreign state.

During that stop, H6 handed over a number of electronic devices, including a mobile phone.

What the officers found on them was so involved with the security service MI5, that Braverman used her extraordinary powers to ban H6 from the country.

In a message found on one of his devices, Dominic Hampshire, an adviser to Prince Andrew, told H6: “Outside of (the prince’s) closest inner circle, you are sitting at the top of a tree that a lot of people would like.” To be on.”

Mr Hampshire adds: “Under your direction, we have found a way to get the people involved in and out of the house in Windsor unnoticed.”

There are no further details about the identity of the “relevant persons” in the extract from the letter included in the ruling.

Hampshire also confirmed to H6 that he could act on behalf of Prince Andrew in talks “with potential partners and investors in China”.

A document listing the “key talking points” of a call with Prince Andrew was also found.

The letter states: “Important: Manage expectations. It's really important not to set expectations that are 'too high' – he is desperate and will cling to anything.”

The court assessed that this meant that H6 was in a position to “create relationships between senior Chinese officials and prominent British figures that could be utilized for the purposes of political interference by the Chinese state.”

The judges said H6 had received “an unusual degree of trust from a senior member of the Royal Family with whom he was prepared to enter into commercial activities”.

They added that the relationship developed at a time when the prince was “under great pressure,” which “may make him vulnerable to misusing this type of influence.”

The prince has faced increasing scrutiny since late 2019 over his friendship with the late US financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which included his infamous Newsnight interview in November that year.

he Step back from royal duties In November 2019, and since then, the prince has faced questions about his judgment and finances.

Questions were raised Concerning the prince's financial situation after he reached a settlement – believed to be worth millions – in a civil sexual assault case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers. The Prince has always denied assaulting Ms Giuffre.

Isabel Hilton, editor of the China Dialogue website, told BBC News that Chinese state agents usually target “members of the House of Lords, prominent business people, or people who have a voice in society.”

She added that it was “extremely ambitious” to target a member of the royal family and “completely unwise for a member of the royal family to allow themselves to be targeted.”

Security chiefs fear Beijing is trying to run an “elite capture” operation to influence the Duke of York due to the pressure he is under, a tactic aimed at placing prominent individuals in Chinese companies, research centers or universities.

H6 was later informed that UK authorities believed he was linked to the United Front Work Department (UFWD), the arm of the Chinese Communist Party tasked with conducting influence operations.

The ruling said MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum had expressed concern about the threat posed to the UK by political interference by China, and that bodies such as the UFWD were “waging patient, well-financed and deceptive campaigns to buy and exercise influence”.

The Home Office said it believed H6 was involved in covert and deceptive activity on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and that his relationship with Prince Andrew could be used for political interference.