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Yang Tengbo at a CCP party rally in Beijing
Yang Tengbo has been identified as a 50-year-old Chinese businessman and suspected spy banned from the UK.
British authorities claimed he had formed an “unusual level of trust” with Prince Andrew and developed relationships with politicians that could be “exploited” by China.
Details of the allegations against Mr Yang were revealed last week when a Special Immigration Appeal Tribunal upheld a Home Office order banning him from entering the UK on grounds of national security, following a long legal battle.
A court order which meant he could previously only be identified as H6 was lifted on Monday.
Mr Yang said the allegation that he was a spy was “completely false” and denied doing anything illegal.
What do we know about Mr. Yang's life and work?
Yang Tengbo, also known as Chris Yang, was born in China in 1974. He first came to the UK in 2002 and studied in London for a year, before completing a Masters in Public Administration and in public policy at the University of York.
In 2005 he founded consultancy Hampton Group International, one of five companies of which he was listed as a director in the UK.
On 21 May 2013 he was granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom. He told the court he spent on average up to two weeks in the UK each month before the pandemic.
After his anonymity was lifted on Monday, he described the UK as his “second home” and said he would “never do anything to harm it”.
What measures have the British authorities taken?
On November 6, 2021, Mr. Yang was arrested at the British border for reasons that have not been made public. He returned his phone and other digital devices.
In February 2022, he filed a lawsuit to stop the British government from retaining his data – a bid he first won and then lost on appeal.
He was later informed that British authorities believed he was associated with the United Front Work Department (UFWD), the secretive arm of the Chinese government that organizes Beijing's cultural influence operations.
The UFWD has been linked to several cases of alleged Chinese state interference in Western countries and researchers say it is often aimed at attempting to co-opt legitimate Chinese businesses and community groups in foreign countries.
A year later, in February 2023, Mr Yang was “offloaded” from a London-bound flight while returning from Beijing. He was told that the UK was about to make a decision to exclude him from the country.
Mr. Yang's lawyers have asked the government to disclose the allegations against him and give him a chance to make his case.
On March 15, 2023, Suella Braverman, then Minister of the Interior, ordered the cancellation of Mr. Yang's right of residence. She banned it from the UK because it would be “conducive to the public good”.
Mr. Yang was informed of this on March 23, 2023 and filed a lawsuit shortly thereafter.
What was the evidence against Mr. Yang?
Some of the evidence that informed the Interior Ministry's decision to ban Mr. Yang was included in a court ruling upholding the decision published last week.
Authorities relied on data found on Mr. Yang's devices when he was arrested in 2021, including documents that British authorities said indicated a link to the UFWD and other groups linked to Beijing.
British authorities argued that this showed he was “frequently in contact with officials linked to the Chinese state”. They also said he had “at times deliberately obscured” his ties to the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party and the UFWD, and alleged there was a “misleading element” in his account.
The Home Office also argued that although Mr Yang said he had not received direct orders to interfere with British interests, “it could be expected that those occupying its position understands the goals of the UFWD and the CCP” and “engages proactively without prompting.”
They also highlighted Mr Yang's membership of the London-based 48 Group Club, which promotes trade between the UK and China. Security officials have argued that Mr. Yang's honorary membership status could be used for political interference by Beijing.
In response to US-funded Radio Free Asia, the 48 Group Club said Mr Yang had never been actively involved in the management of the group.
Although the court ruled there was not an “abundance” of evidence against Mr. Yang in some cases, and said there could be an “innocent explanation” in others, it ultimately decided that there was “sufficient” evidence to support MI5's conclusion that he was a problem. security risk.
Mr. Yang said he would appeal the decision.
Watch: “China's Magic Weapon,” a 2021 documentary about China's efforts to expand its influence in the West.
What is Mr Yang's connection to Prince Andrew?
British authorities discovered a letter from Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to Prince Andrew, which said Mr Yang could act on the prince's behalf in engagements with potential investors in China.
Mr Hampshire also told Mr Yang in a letter: “Apart from (the prince's) closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would love to be on.”
It is unclear whether this is a true claim made by Mr. Hampshire, who has not spoken publicly since being named in the decision.
But the Home Office saw this as evidence that Mr Yang was able to “create relationships between prominent British figures and senior Chinese officials” which “could be exploited for political interference” through Beijing.
A document listing the “key talking points” from a call with Prince Andrew was also found, claiming the prince was “in dire straits and would hold on to anything.”
Prince Andrew said he “ceased all contact” with Mr Yang after receiving advice from the government, but did not say when communication stopped. His office said they met “through official channels” and “never discussed anything of a sensitive nature.”
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Mr Yang seen here with Prince Andrew
What did Mr. Yang say?
Mr. Yang has strongly denied the allegations against him. In his first submission to the court, he said he had no ties to anyone in politics in China, had never been a member of the Chinese Communist Party, and had never carried out activities on his behalf for the UFWD.
In other arguments, he also said he had only limited ties to the Chinese state and that “contact with the UFWD was inevitable.”
Mr Yang said he had become a victim of a new political climate in which the UK had hardened its view towards China.
“When relations are good and Chinese investment is sought, I am welcome in the UK. When relations deteriorate, an anti-China stance is taken and I am excluded,” Mr Yang said.
A spokesperson for Beijing's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that “it is not worth refuting this kind of unfair media hype”, adding to a statement last week that “some individuals in the UK are still eager to fabricate baseless spy stories targeting China.”
With reporting from BBC Verify
