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).
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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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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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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.
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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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”.
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“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.”
