Alleged Chinese spy linked to Prince Andrew named as Yang Tengbo

After his name was released on Monday, Mr Yang said he was a victim of the “political climate”.

“When relations are good, and Chinese investment is sought, I am welcome in the UK. When relations sour, an anti-China stance is taken, and I am excluded,” his statement read.

He said he had dedicated his professional life in the UK “to building links between British and Chinese businesses” and that he had been part of bringing “hundreds of millions of pounds” of investment into the country.

“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.”

Mr Yang’s lawyer, Guy Vassall-Adams KC said his client would still be seeking to appeal his banning order.

By 2020 he was running a company that was “advising and consulting” to UK businesses on their affairs in China.

The judgment revealed that he was an honorary member of the 48 Group Club, a London-based group of prominent British leaders, politicians aimed at promoting trade between the UK and China.

Security officials had argued that Mr Yang’s membership of the club “which has a number of prominent UK figures as members” could be leveraged for political interference purposes by China.

In a response to the US-funded Radio Free Asia media group on the weekend, the 48 Group Club said H6 never had any involvement with the work of the group and only had honorary membership.

Mr Yang has met with many senior figures in the UK, including former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May, and Prince Andrew, to whom he was described as a “close confidant”.

A former Conservative leader warned on Monday morning that the alleged spy could be the “tip of the iceberg” of those in the UK doing the same job.

Sir Ian Duncan Smith is expected to ask Home Secretary Yvette Cooper if she will make a statement on the “extent of United Front Work Department operations within the UK”.

The United Front Work Department is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which Mr Yang is thought to have been associated with. The department is tasked with conducting influence operations.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the government was “concerned about the challenge that China poses”.