Alleged Chinese spy helped draft letters from Prince Andrew to Xi Jinping, witness says
The alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo gave advice on drafting private letters from the Duke of York to China's president, Xi Jinping, a former senior adviser to Prince Andrew told a special immigration tribunal.
Dominic Hampshire, who worked for Andrew from 2019-22, said Andrew had 'always had a communication channel' with Xi which was 'accepted' and may even have been encouraged by Buckingham Palace and the late Queen.
Yang – also known as Chris Yang – who has previously said he had 'done nothing wrong or unlawful', was excluded from the UK on national security grounds by the then home secretary, Suella Braverman, in March 2023.
He unsuccessfully challenged the decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) last year, with judges finding the businessman was a 'close confidant' of Andrew and had 'won a significant degree, one could say an unusual degree, of trust' from the duke.
Documents in the legal challenge, including Hampshire's witness statement, were made public on Friday following a request from several media organisations.
According to Hampshire's statement, Andrew sent a letter each year on the Chinese president's birthday. 'The royal household, including the late queen, were fully aware of this communication – it was certainly accepted and it may be fair to say it was even encouraged – it was an open channel of communication that was useful to have.'
He added: 'As is my job, I would draft these letters with the help of those (in this instance Chris) that understood how messages need to be conveyed due to cultural differences.'
His statement, made in May 2024, said Andrew 'must surely be a valuable communication point with China'.
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'Whilst I think China would prefer a different royal, the reality is, to this day, that if the UK government or the palace said that someone needs to see the Chinese president and talk to him, I think the duke would be able to do that, whereas I don't think anyone else could do so as simply.'
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