Disgraced Prince Andrew is facing further scrutiny over links to an alleged Chinese spy.
The alleged spy was apparently invited to the Duke of York’s birthday party in 2020 – but he’s now been banned from the UK by MI5 on ‘security grounds’.
Andrew, a former UK trade envoy, has worked closely with influential business figures in the past, but it’s now come to light that this 50-year-old Chinese businessman was also a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
He was reportedly working for its United Front Work Department, which gathers intelligence.
A legal case, largely held behind closed doors, heard the alleged spy was even authorised to act on Andrew’s behalf to seek investors in China.
The alleged spy has been deported, MailOnline reports, and his appeal to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission to reverse the ban has failed.
The immigration court’s decision has now been made public, and during those legal proceedings judges were told about data from the alleged spy’s phone.
His phone was seized in 2021 when he was stopped under counterterrorism laws at the UK border.
Its contents revealed that a representative of the Duke of York had authorised the man on Andrew’s behalf to set up an international financial initiative known as the Eurasia Fund to engage with potential partners and investors in China.
Former security minister Tom Tugendhat has described the revelations as ‘extremely embarrassing’.
Asked whether Andrew’s advisers should have been aware of the alleged spy, he said: ‘It’s not immediately obvious, it could be someone who’s British who’s working in China and who’s come under the influence, so it’s not quite as black and white as it may first appear – but it’s certainly extremely embarrassing.
‘It demonstrates I’m afraid that the Chinese state is extremely clear that what its ambition is is to secure influence over foreign countries.
‘They always talk about no interference in other people’s business when people talk about human rights in China, but they do nothing but interfere in the UK and in many countries across the world.’
This is just the latest scandal involving Prince Andrew, who was forced to step back from royal duties over his links with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
King Charles has reportedly cut off Andrew’s ‘£1million allowance’ in the fallout after the Duke settled out of court with his accuser Virginia Guiffre in 2022.
She claimed Epstein paid her $15,000 to have sex with Andrew – something the Duke has always denied.
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