Latest news with #Pitch@PalaceChina
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese ‘spy': I risked my reputation by supporting Prince Andrew
An alleged Chinese spy said he took a 'significant risk' to his reputation by continuing to support Prince Andrew after his disastrous Newsnight interview, documents have revealed. Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK on national security grounds, said he maintained 'loyalty and commitment' to the Duke despite the royal's general 'negative' perception in China. Yang was forced to leave the country on national security grounds in March 2023 and unsuccessfully challenged the decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission last year. UK authorities have alleged that he formed an 'unusual degree of trust' with the Duke and developed relationships with politicians to be 'leveraged' by China. On Friday, a secrecy order preventing the release of some documents linked to the case was lifted in the public interest after an application by publications, including The Telegraph. Among the newly published documents is a second witness statement from Yang, where he denied 'scheming to destabilise the UK' and said he was 'confused' as to why the British state believed he was a threat. Yang appears to have targeted the Duke through his Pitch@Palace initiative, a Dragons' Den-style competition launched in 2014, and he was later appointed to lead its Chinese arm, Pitch@Palace China, when it was launched two years later. In the 37-page statement, Yang said that Pitch@Palace China had been 'recognised as one of the top international entrepreneur and start-up platforms in the country' but that after the Duke's November 2019 interview with Emily Mailtis, 'everything changed'. 'Following that interview, all international partners of Pitch pulled out or distanced themselves from it,' he said. 'The Pitch Global team moved from their offices out of Buckingham Palace. But the intention was to maintain Pitch in some form.' He said Amanda Thirsk, the Duke's private secretary and the director of the Pitch@Palace initiative, asked whether he would continue to support the project, 'especially given the success we had achieved in China', and that he decided to do so despite believing it posed a risk. 'At a significant risk for me and my business reputationally, I agreed to continue to support Amanda and Pitch,' he said. 'I admired and respected the Duke in how engaged and passionate he was about supporting Chinese entrepreneurs. I felt I had also invested a huge amount of time, effort, and money into Pitch China and did not want that investment to go to waste.' The new documents included a witness statement from Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to Prince Andrew, that claimed the King held secret meetings with the Duke about his plans for a Chinese investment scheme run by Yang. Mr Hampshire claimed that the King was aware of an investment fund in which Yang was directly involved. Yang told the tribunal that he first met the Duke at a dinner in St James's Palace in 2014, having been introduced to Ms Thirsk by Sir Ron Dennis, the Formula 1 executive. Earlier in the statement, Yang said on setting up Pitch in China, the initiative was 'unknown there, and the Duke's reputation was fairly negative and based on reporting taken from the British media'. He said he persuaded others to 'take a risk alongside me and invest in what was essentially a start-up'. In his statement, Yang said that during his time working with the Duke, he had very little contact with him and could not have influenced the Duke. 'There would literally be no way I could possibly exert any unwanted influence on his team, or him. If anything, I was using my own networks and understanding of China to help with Pitch build[ing] a positive brand in China,' he said. He said being a representative of the Chinese business community in the UK meant meeting members of the Chinese Communist Party was 'unavoidable' but 'this does not mean I am working for this organisation, for its interests, or on its behalf'. 'I am definitively not scheming to destabilise the UK or its institutions or prominent individuals, and I am not acting against the national interests of the UK. I am not a threat to the security of the UK, and I feel very insulted to be accused of this and without seeing any material evidence against me to support this.' He later added: 'I am confused as to why the British state believes I am a threat to the public good on the grounds of national security.' Yang said that concerns about the 48 Group, which promotes trade between the UK and China and of which he is a member, were 'paranoid and far-fetched'. He said it was wrong to accuse him of spying and his 'prominent status as a successful Chinese entrepreneur in the UK' was 'nothing to do with me wanting to get access or exert influence in the UK '. 'I feel that the government completely misunderstands me and what I do. I don't deceive, I don't mislead, and I don't hide things to interfere with the interests of the UK.' Yang also claimed that the Duke had wanted him to become involved with a golf tournament and told him to contact Mr Hampshire during a dinner at Buckingham Palace in October 2019. 'During that dinner, the Duke said I should contact Dominic who runs his golf tournament,' Yang wrote. 'He said there may be opportunities to work with him on golf like we had done with Amanda for Pitch. The Duke wrote Dominic's number down on a piece of paper and I then reached out to Dominic.' Yang also suggested that the Duke wanted to keep a relationship with Chinese business in August 2021 because he 'needed money' Yang said that when the new ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, came to the UK, Hampshire was 'involved in the preparation of the talking points' of a call. He said the 'purpose of the note was to keep the Duke engaged without promising anything in terms of financial benefit because the Duke needed money at the time, and saw the relationships with China through Pitch as one possible source of funding.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
06-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Chinese ‘spy': I risked my reputation by supporting Prince Andrew
An alleged Chinese spy said he took a 'significant risk' to his reputation by continuing to support Prince Andrew after his disastrous Newsnight interview, documents have revealed. Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK on national security grounds, said he maintained 'loyalty and commitment' to the Duke despite the royal's general 'negative' perception in China. Yang was forced to leave the country on national security grounds in March 2023 and unsuccessfully challenged the decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission last year. UK authorities have alleged that he formed an 'unusual degree of trust' with the Duke and developed relationships with politicians to be 'leveraged' by China. Pitch@Palace initiative On Friday, a secrecy order preventing the release of some documents linked to the case was lifted in the public interest after an application by publications, including The Telegraph. Among the newly published documents is a second witness statement from Yang, where he denied 'scheming to destabilise the UK' and said he was 'confused' as to why the British state believed he was a threat. Yang appears to have targeted the Duke through his Pitch@Palace initiative, a Dragons' Den-style competition launched in 2014, and he was later appointed to lead its Chinese arm, Pitch@Palace China, when it was launched two years later. In the 37-page statement, Yang said that Pitch@Palace China had been 'recognised as one of the top international entrepreneur and start-up platforms in the country' but that after the Duke's November 2019 interview with Emily Mailtis, 'everything changed'. 'Following that interview, all international partners of Pitch pulled out or distanced themselves from it,' he said. 'The Pitch Global team moved from their offices out of Buckingham Palace. But the intention was to maintain Pitch in some form.' He said Amanda Thirsk, the Duke's private secretary and the director of the Pitch@Palace initiative, asked whether he would continue to support the project, 'especially given the success we had achieved in China', and that he decided to do so despite believing it posed a risk. 'At a significant risk for me and my business reputationally, I agreed to continue to support Amanda and Pitch,' he said. 'I admired and respected the Duke in how engaged and passionate he was about supporting Chinese entrepreneurs. I felt I had also invested a huge amount of time, effort, and money into Pitch China and did not want that investment to go to waste.' The new documents included a witness statement from Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to Prince Andrew, that claimed the King held secret meetings with the Duke about his plans for a Chinese investment scheme run by Yang. Mr Hampshire claimed that the King was aware of an investment fund in which Yang was directly involved. 'I am not a threat to UK security' Yang told the tribunal that he first met the Duke at a dinner in St James's Palace in 2014, having been introduced to Ms Thirsk by Sir Ron Dennis, the Formula 1 executive. Earlier in the statement, Yang said on setting up Pitch in China, the initiative was 'unknown there, and the Duke's reputation was fairly negative and based on reporting taken from the British media'. He said he persuaded others to 'take a risk alongside me and invest in what was essentially a start-up'. In his statement, Yang said that during his time working with the Duke, he had very little contact with him and could not have influenced the Duke. 'There would literally be no way I could possibly exert any unwanted influence on his team, or him. If anything, I was using my own networks and understanding of China to help with Pitch build[ing] a positive brand in China,' he said. He said being a representative of the Chinese business community in the UK meant meeting members of the Chinese Communist Party was 'unavoidable' but 'this does not mean I am working for this organisation, for its interests, or on its behalf'. 'I am definitively not scheming to destabilise the UK or its institutions or prominent individuals, and I am not acting against the national interests of the UK. I am not a threat to the security of the UK, and I feel very insulted to be accused of this and without seeing any material evidence against me to support this.' He later added: 'I am confused as to why the British state believes I am a threat to the public good on the grounds of national security.' 'I don't deceive, I don't mislead' Yang said that concerns about the 48 Group, which promotes trade between the UK and China and of which he is a member, were 'paranoid and far-fetched'. He said it was wrong to accuse him of spying and his ' prominent status as a successful Chinese entrepreneur in the UK' was 'nothing to do with me wanting to get access or exert influence in the UK '. 'I feel that the government completely misunderstands me and what I do. I don't deceive, I don't mislead, and I don't hide things to interfere with the interests of the UK.' Yang also claimed that the Duke had wanted him to become involved with a golf tournament and told him to contact Mr Hampshire during a dinner at Buckingham Palace in October 2019. 'During that dinner, the Duke said I should contact Dominic who runs his golf tournament,' Yang wrote. 'He said there may be opportunities to work with him on golf like we had done with Amanda for Pitch. The Duke wrote Dominic's number down on a piece of paper and I then reached out to Dominic.' Yang also suggested that the Duke wanted to keep a relationship with Chinese business in August 2021 because he 'needed money' Yang said that when the new ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, came to the UK, Hampshire was 'involved in the preparation of the talking points' of a call. He said the 'purpose of the note was to keep the Duke engaged without promising anything in terms of financial benefit because the Duke needed money at the time, and saw the relationships with China through Pitch as one possible source of funding.'
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK courts release new documents on Prince Andrew's relationship to alleged Chinese spy
Prince Andrew's links to an alleged Chinese spy were detailed in documents released Friday by British courts, which included a statement from a former close aide to the prince about the duke's line of communication to China's president Xi Jinping. The 10-page statement from Dominique Hampshire in May of 2024 was part of a tranche of documents released by the courts following a request from numerous British media organizations regarding Prince Andrew's relationship to the alleged spy, Yang Tengbo. The documents are part of Yang's appeal of his exclusion from the UK in December, which he lost. Yang reportedly forged a close relationship with the prince and was the co-founder of Pitch@Palace China, which expanded the duke's Pitch@Palace initiative into China. In a tribunal hearing in December that upheld the earlier decision to bar Yang from the UK, it was revealed that Yang was authorized to act on Prince Andrew's behalf during business meetings with potential Chinese investors in the UK. Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman told parliament in December she took the decision to ban Yang from the UK 'because his presence posed a threat to our national security' and was 'based on the advice of MI5,' the UK's domestic security agency. Yang has denied any wrongdoing. Hampshire also said Yang helped Prince Andrew draft letters to Xi discussing the Eurasia Fund, something Yang had described in his written evidence to the tribunal as a way to 'upgrade' the duke's Pitch@Palace initiative 'into an investment-type business, or a fund.' He was also tasked with talking to 'relevant people' in China, per British press agency PA. '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,' Hampshire said in the statement. Hampshire said he met twice with Prince Andrew and King Charles over the six months prior to giving his witness statement to discuss 'what the duke can do moving forwards in a way that is acceptable to His Majesty.' Those talks included discussing the Eurasia Fund, according to PA. Buckingham Palace said Friday that King Charles has met with Prince Andrew together with Hampshire over the past year to discuss proposals for independent funding, but Yang was never mentioned. The relationship between the prince and Yang came about shortly after the duke's disastrous 2019 BBC interview on his relationship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which Hampshire said led to his belief that the prince's reputation was 'irrecoverable.' 'This was a common feeling within the royal household, despite what the duke thought may happen. It was very clear internally within the royal household that we would have to look at options for the duke's future away from royal duties,' Hampshire said in his witness statement, according to British news agency PA. According to PA, Hampshire also said he never saw a 'red flag' with Yang (who also went by the name Chris), and emphasized Yang 'categorically does not have a close relationship with the duke.' 'Chris, of course, doesn't have the duke's telephone number or his email address and does not have the ability to talk directly to the duke on his own - ever. This is normal practice and Chris's relationship with the duke is the same as numerous others,' he said, according to PA. He also said Andrew 'fully complied' with advice to end all contact with Yang. Hampshire said in a separate statement on Friday that he left the royal household in 2022 and no longer provides advice to Andrew, according to PA. CNN's Rob Picheta and Max Foster contributed to this report.
CNN
04-04-2025
- Politics
- CNN
UK courts release new documents on Prince Andrew's relationship to alleged Chinese spy
Prince Andrew's links to an alleged Chinese spy were detailed in documents released Friday by British courts, which included a statement from a former close aide to the prince about the duke's line of communication to China's president Xi Jinping. The 10-page statement from Dominique Hampshire in May of 2024 was part of a tranche of documents released by the courts following a request from numerous British media organizations regarding Prince Andrew's relationship to the alleged spy, Yang Tengbo. The documents are part of Yang's appeal of his exclusion from the UK in December, which he lost. Yang reportedly forged a close relationship with the prince and was the co-founder of Pitch@Palace China, which expanded the duke's Pitch@Palace initiative into China. In a tribunal hearing in December that upheld the earlier decision to bar Yang from the UK, it was revealed that Yang was authorized to act on Prince Andrew's behalf during business meetings with potential Chinese investors in the UK. Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman told parliament in December she took the decision to ban Yang from the UK 'because his presence posed a threat to our national security' and was 'based on the advice of MI5,' the UK's domestic security agency. Yang has denied any wrongdoing. Hampshire also said Yang helped Prince Andrew draft letters to Xi discussing the Eurasia Fund, something Yang had described in his written evidence to the tribunal as a way to 'upgrade' the duke's Pitch@Palace initiative 'into an investment-type business, or a fund.' He was also tasked with talking to 'relevant people' in China, per British press agency PA. '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,' Hampshire said in the statement. Hampshire said he met twice with Prince Andrew and King Charles over the six months prior to giving his witness statement to discuss 'what the duke can do moving forwards in a way that is acceptable to His Majesty.' Those talks included discussing the Eurasia Fund, according to PA. Buckingham Palace said Friday that King Charles has met with Prince Andrew together with Hampshire over the past year to discuss proposals for independent funding, but Yang was never mentioned. The relationship between the prince and Yang came about shortly after the duke's disastrous 2019 BBC interview on his relationship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which Hampshire said led to his belief that the prince's reputation was 'irrecoverable.' 'This was a common feeling within the royal household, despite what the duke thought may happen. It was very clear internally within the royal household that we would have to look at options for the duke's future away from royal duties,' Hampshire said in his witness statement, according to British news agency PA. According to PA, Hampshire also said he never saw a 'red flag' with Yang (who also went by the name Chris), and emphasized Yang 'categorically does not have a close relationship with the duke.' 'Chris, of course, doesn't have the duke's telephone number or his email address and does not have the ability to talk directly to the duke on his own - ever. This is normal practice and Chris's relationship with the duke is the same as numerous others,' he said, according to PA. He also said Andrew 'fully complied' with advice to end all contact with Yang. Hampshire said in a separate statement on Friday that he left the royal household in 2022 and no longer provides advice to Andrew, according to PA. CNN's Rob Picheta and Max Foster contributed to this report.
Sky News
04-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Prince Andrew's Pitch@Palace branded 'crude attempt to enrich himself'
Prince Andrew's efforts to make money from his Pitch@Palace project have been branded as a "crude attempt to enrich himself" at the expense of "unsuspecting tech founders", as new documents may shed more light on what he and his team have been attempting to sell. Today is the deadline for documents to be released relating to Prince Andrew 's former senior adviser Dominic Hampshire and his interactions with the alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo. In February, an immigration tribunal heard how the intelligence services had contacted Mr Hampshire about Mr Yang back in 2022. Mr Yang helped set up Pitch@Palace China, a branch of the duke's scheme to help young entrepreneurs. Judges banned Mr Yang from the UK, saying his association with a senior royal had made Prince Andrew "vulnerable" and posed a threat to national security. Mr Yang challenged that decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC). Since that hearing, media organisations have applied for certain documents relating to the case and Mr Hampshire's support for Mr Yang to be made public. SIAC agreed to release some information of public interest. It is hoped they may include more details on deals that he was trying to do on behalf of Prince Andrew. So what do we know about potential deals for Pitch@Palace so far? In February, Sky News confirmed that palace officials had a meeting last summer with tech funding company StartupBootcamp to discuss a potential tie-up between them and Prince Andrew relating to his Pitch@Palace project. The palace wasn't involved in the fine details of a deal but wanted guarantees to make sure it wouldn't impact the Royal Family in the future. Sky News understands from one source that the price being discussed for Pitch was around £750,000 - there are, however, reports that a deal may have stalled. Photos we found on the Chinese Chamber of Commerce website show an event held in Asia between StartupBootcamp and Innovate Global, believed to be an offshoot of Pitch. 2:08 Documents, released in relation to the investigations into Mr Tengbo, have also shown how much the duke has always seen Pitch as a way of potentially making money. One document from 21 August 2021 clearly states "the duke needed money at the time, and saw the relationships with China through Pitch as one possible source of funding". But Prince Andrew's apparent intention to use Pitch to make money has led to concerns about whether he is unfairly using the contacts and information he gained when he was a working royal. Norman Baker, former MP and author of books on royal finances, believes it is "a crude attempt to enrich himself" and goes against what the tech entrepreneurs thought they were signing up for. He told Sky News: "The data given by these business people was given on the basis it was an official operation and not something for Prince Andrew, and so in my view, Prince Andrew had no right legally or morally to take the data which has been collected, a huge amount of data, and sell it... "And quite clearly if you're going to sell it off to StartupBootcamp, that is not what people had in mind. The entrepreneurs who joined Pitch@Palace did not do so to enrich Prince Andrew," he said. Rich Wilson was one tech entrepreneur who was approached at the start of Pitch@Palace to sign up, but he stepped away when he spotted a clause in the contract saying they'd be entitled to 2% equity in any funding he secured. He feels Prince Andrew is continuing to use those he made a show of supporting. He said: "It makes me feel sick. I think it's terrible - that he is continuing to exploit unsuspecting tech founders in this way. A lot of them, I'm quite grey and old in the tooth now, I saw it coming, but clearly most didn't. And a lot of them were quite young. "It'll be their first venture and you're learning on the trot, so to speak. So to take advantage of people in such a major way - that's an awful, sickening thing to do." We approached StartupBootcamp who said they had no comment to make, and the Duke of York's office did not respond. With reports that a deal may have stalled, it could be a big setback for the duke - especially with questions still about how he'll continue to pay for his home on the Windsor estate now that the King no longer gives him financial support.
