A suspected Chinese spy – described as a “close confidant” of Prince Andrew – has been barred from the UK because of concerns he posed a threat to national security.
The alleged spy, known only as H6, was first excluded from entering Britain in 2023 by then home secretary Suella Braverman after the Home Office said he was considered to have engaged in “covert and deceptive activity” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The case has recently been thrust back into the limelight after H6 argued his exclusion from the UK was unlawful and made an appeal to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
Last week, the specialist tribunal in London upheld the ban and ruled that Ms Braverman had been “entitled to conclude” that he “represented a risk to the national security”.
MPs have since expressed concern about the level of access allegedly gained by the businessman, after reports suggest he also met former prime ministers Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May.
Here is everything we know about the case so far.
Who is H6?
H6 is a 50-year-old Chinese national who worked as a civil servant in China before coming to the UK, where he later set up his own business.
He is alleged to have been working on behalf of the CCP and United Front Work Department – an arm of the CCP which critics say is used to influence foreign entities.
Judges at the SIAC tribunal were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed H6 had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials “that could be leveraged for political interference purposes”.
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3:23
Alleged spy linked to Prince Andrew
They also said that H6 had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state which, combined with his relationship with Andrew, represented a threat to national security.
The three SIAC judges said on 12 December that H6 had enjoyed a private life in the UK, which had been described as the businessman’s “second home”.
They said he had “settled status, a home and extensive business interests in the United Kingdom. He was regarded as a close confidant of the duke”.
Relationship with Prince Andrew
It is not known precisely when the duke and H6 met, but a statement released by Andrew on Friday said the pair met through “official channels”.
It is believed they grew so close that H6 was invited to the royal’s birthday party in 2020, visited Buckingham Palace twice, and also entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle at the invitation of the duke, according to The Times.
H6 was also told by Andrew’s aide Dominic Hampshire that he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China.
The SIAC tribunal heard that a letter from March 2020 letter from Mr Hampshire – referencing the invitation to the duke’s birthday – was found on H6’s devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021.
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1:43
Prince Andrew and China: What is happening?
The adviser said in the letter: “I also hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal (Prince Andrew) and indeed his family.
“You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship… Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.”
Judges who upheld the ban on H6 entering the country argued the duke could have been made “vulnerable” by his influence.
The duke’s statement said he “ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised”.
“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,” the statement said.
Several newspapers have reported that the King has been briefed about his brother’s links to the alleged spy.
Sky News has also seen photos of the alleged spy with former Conservative Party leaders Lord Cameron and Baroness May.
There is no suggestion either of them were aware of his reported links to the Chinese state, and it is not known when the images were taken.
Image: Sky News has seen photos of H6 with Cameron and May
Could H6 be named?
The alleged Chinese spy is known only as H6 due to the court having granted an interim anonymity order which protects his identity.
However, some MPs are calling for the order to be lifted.
Nigel Farage has said his Reform UK party is prepared to use parliamentary privilege – which provides legal immunity to MPs – to name the alleged agent in the House of Commons.
While former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said he is applying for an urgent question in the Commons on the influence of the United Front Work Department, the group thought to be associated with H6.
He told The Guardian he would seek to pressure the government over the foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS), which is designed to protect Britain from covert influence but has not yet been implemented.
FIRS would require individuals to disclose who they are in an arrangement with, what activity they have been directed to undertake, and when the arrangement was made.
Tom Tugendhat, the former Conservative security minister, also called for Labour to continue the implementation of the FIRS.
He told Sky News Breakfast that the allegations are just the “tip of the iceberg”.
Mr Tugendhat claimed the UK is “seeing a pattern” of attempts to influence or change British policy and attempts to steal economic secrets and intellectual property.
When asked if the anonymity order should be lifted, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News on Saturday that she “always respects the decisions of the courts”.
She said Britain has a “complex” relationship with China which requires economic cooperation with the country while also challenging any risk to national security.
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9:43
‘Everybody within cabinet’ likely knows
Jim McMahon, a Labour minister, told Sky News Breakfast it’s down to the court to decide whether the identity of a person should or shouldn’t be released.
He said he assumes that everybody within the cabinet knows H6’s identity.
What has China said?
A spokesperson for the UK’s Chinese embassy said last week that some in the UK are “so keen” on making up “all kinds of spy stories against China”.
“This again is a typical case of the thief crying ‘catch thief’,” they added.
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“Their purpose is to smear China and sabotage normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the UK. We strongly condemn this.”
They also said the United Front “endeavours to bring together various political parties and people from all walks of life, ethnic groups and organisations” to “promote cooperation between the CCP and people who are not members of it”.
“Some on the British side repeatedly use China’s United Front work as a pretext to accuse China of wrongdoing, discredit China’s political system, and undermine normal exchanges and co-operation between China and the UK.
“Such sinister plots will never succeed. We urge the relevant parties in the UK to immediately stop creating trouble, stop spreading the ‘China threat’ narrative and stop undermining normal exchanges between China and the UK.”
A 53-year-old man has been charged after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s trophy parade.
Paul Doyle, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, has been charged with seven offences, Merseyside Police said.
The businessman, who is a father-of-three, is accused of two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two counts of causing unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Image: Paul Doyle
Doyle is also accused of two counts of attempted unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving.
He is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates Court on Friday.
The charges relate to six people, including two children. A wounding charge and an attempted grievous bodily harm charge relate to a child.
A police car was outside Doyle’s four-bedroom detached family home in the West Derby area on Thursday morning.
According to his social media, he has travelled extensively including Japan, Fiji, India and Australia. Doyle has posted pictures of himself competing in triathlons, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
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0:43
New Liverpool incident footage
Thousands of fans were gathered in Liverpool city centre on Monday to celebrate the Premier League champions’ title win when a car struck a crowd on Water Street.
Police said a total of 79 people were injured in the incident, with the youngest aged nine, and the oldest being a 78-year-old.
Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Image: Forensic officers at the scene in Water Street. Pic: PA
‘Huge volume of evidence’
Chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Mersey-Cheshire, Sarah Hammond, told a news conference on Thursday that the investigation was at an early stage and a “huge volume of evidence” was being reviewed.
“This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve.
“The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.”
Police ‘working tirelessly’
Also at the briefing where the charges were announced was Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Jenny Sims, who said: “I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions.
“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism, to seek the answer to all of those questions. When we are able to, we will provide further information.”
A body has been found in the search for a missing teenage girl who fell into a reservoir, police have said.
West Yorkshire Police confirmed they recovered a body from the Baitings Reservoir, near Ripponden, on Thursday afternoon.
A formal identification is yet to take place, but police believe the body to be that of the missing teenage girl.
The girl’s family have been informed.
Emergency services were called to the reservoir at 1.17pm on Wednesday following reports that a teenage girl had fallen into the water from Baitings Dam.
Police, fire and ambulance crews, as well as an underwater search team, were deployed to the scene for the search, which continued on Thursday until a body was found.
Detective Inspector Laura Hall of Calderdale’s Safeguarding Team said: “While formal identification is yet to take place, the girl’s family have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers.
“My thoughts go out to her family and friends at this very sad time.
“Our enquiries are continuing into the death in order to establish exactly what happened yesterday, but we do not believe it to be suspicious.”
Officers have until Thursday evening to question the man from West Derby.
He is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
Police believe the car which struck pedestrians was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted.
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans had turned out to celebrate their team’s Premier League title when the incident unfolded on Water Street just after 6pm on Monday.
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6:53
‘My boy in his pram, got bounced’
‘The best day of my life turned into worst’
Sky News interviewed a lifelong Liverpool fan who said his five-month-old son was “bounced” 15ft (4.6m) in his pram after they were hit by the vehicle.
The child was not counted in the police’s injury tally.
Daniel Eveson, 36, also said his partner had been driven over.
“The best day of my life turned into [the] worst,” Mr Eveson said.
He added: “Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.
“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Liverpool to meet with police chiefs and the local metro mayor.
He said he was being kept informed of developments, adding: “The scenes on Monday were just awful, to see how incredible joy at an amazing achievement turned to horror in a moment.”
Messages of support have been sent to the people of Liverpool, including from the King who said: “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”