Who is Yang Tengbo? What we know about the Chinese ‘spy’ with links to Prince Andrew
A suspected Chinese spy – described as a “close confidant” of Prince Andrew – has been publicly named as Yang Tengbo.
Mr Yang, who was known only as H6 until a High Court judge lifted an anonymity order which was shielding his identity on Monday, is barred from entering Britain.
He was first excluded 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 against Mr Yang has recently been thrust back into the limelight after he argued his exclusion from the UK was unlawful and made an appeal to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
Politics latest: Read live updates
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 he also met former prime ministers Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May.
Here is everything we know about Mr Yang so far.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Alleged Chinese spy named as Yang Tengbo
Who is Yang Tengbo?
Mr Yang is a 50-year-old Chinese national who worked as a civil servant in China before coming to the UK as a student in 2002.
In Britain, he set up a consultancy firm called Hampton Group International – an advisory group that helped with relationships between the UK and China.
He is also credited as the co-founder of Pitch@Palace China – the Chinese branch of the Duke of York’s scheme, which was set up to help support entrepreneurs.
Mr Yang 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 Mr Yang had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials “that could be leveraged for political interference purposes”.
Pic: Pitch@Palace/YouTube
They also said that My Yang 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 Mr Yang 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 Mr Yang met, but a statement released by Andrew on Friday said the pair met through “official channels”.
It is believed they grew so close that the businessman 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.
Mr Yang 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.
Prince Andrew said he ‘ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised’. File pic: PA
The SIAC tribunal heard that a March 2020 letter from Mr Hampshire – referencing the invitation to the duke’s birthday – was found on Mr Yang’s devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021.
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 Mr Yang 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.
Former Conservative Party leaders Lord Cameron and Baroness May were also pictured with Mr Yang.
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.
Both Lord Cameron and Baroness May’s spokespeople told Sky News they meet and are photographed with many people each year.
Baroness May’s spokeswoman said she does not remember “when or where the particular photograph was taken or the man in question”.
While a source close to Lord Cameron said: “David Cameron was leader of the Conservative Party for over a decade and PM for six years.
“He met thousands of people in that time at hundreds of functions and events. We don’t have any further information about this individual.”
‘I have done nothing wrong’
In a statement after his identity was revealed, Mr Yang said the allegations against him are “entirely untrue”.
He said he is a victim of a “political climate” which had seen a rise in tensions between the UK and China.
“I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded,” Mr Yang said, adding: “The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue.”
He said he is seeking to appeal the decision of the SIAC.
Mr Yang continued to say that he is “an independent, self-made entrepreneur” who has “always aimed to foster partnerships and build bridges between East and West”.
👉Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈
He said: “I have dedicated my professional life in the UK to building links between British and Chinese businesses.
“My activities have played a part in bringing hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the UK.
“I built my private life in the UK over two decades and love the country as my second home. I would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK.”
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.
“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”.
Read more:
Politicians and royals need to be extremely vigilant
More than 35,000 migrants arrive in UK
“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 workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
Read more from Sky News:
Luton Airport expansion approved
Prince Harry responds to charity row
Appeal launched to help earthquake victims
A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway