The Duke of York said he had “cut off all contact” with the businessman when concerns were first raised about him being accused of being a Chinese spy.
A statement from Prince Andrew’s office said he met with the person through “official channels” and “no sensitive matters were discussed”.
The businessman, known only as H6, has lost his appeal against a decision to ban him from entering the UK on national security grounds.
He brought the case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after then Home Secretary Suela Braverman said he should be removed from the UK in March 2023.
H6 was said to be a “close aide” to the Duke.
Judges told the Home Secretary in July 2023 that officials said H6 created a relationship between a British public figure and a senior Chinese official that “could be used for purposes of political interference”. He reportedly claimed that he was in a position.
He also said H6 downplays his relationship with the Chinese state, which, combined with his relationship with Prince Andrew, 64, poses a threat to national security.
Prince Andrew’s office said in a statement: “The Duke of York has ceased all contact with the individual, following the advice of His Majesty’s Government, as concerns have been raised.”
Prince Andrew linked to suspected Chinese spy banned from UK
The Duke of York said he had “cut off all contact” with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy when concerns were first raised
This follows reports that King Charles has been briefed by British intelligence about a major security breach linking the duke to a suspected Chinese spy.
“The Duke met with the person through official channels but nothing of confidentiality was discussed.
“I cannot comment further on matters related to national security,” he said.
In their judgment on Thursday, Lord Justice Bourne, Lord Justice Stephen Smith and Lord Stewart Eldon upheld H6’s entry ban, saying Prince Andrew’s problems left him vulnerable to exploitation.
It’s the latest humiliation for Prince Andrew, already a pariah in the royal family after being forced to step back from palace duties in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein pedophile scandal.
In their judgment, the judges assessed that H6 was in a position to “create relationships between Chinese government officials and prominent British figures, which could potentially be used by the Chinese state for purposes of political interference”.
Asked whether the prince’s advisers should have been more alert to the dangers, former security minister Tom Tugendhat told the BBC: “It’s not as black and white as it first seems.” told.
The former Conservative leadership candidate added: “But it’s certainly very embarrassing.”
The specialist tribunal heard the businessman was told by Prince Andrew’s adviser Dominic Hampshire that he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, and that H6 had been told by Prince Andrew’s adviser Dominic Hampshire that H6 I heard that you were invited to a birthday party.
This is the latest humiliation for Prince Andrew, who is already a pariah in the royal family after being forced to step back from palace duties in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein pedophile scandal.
“Outside of his (Andrew’s) closest inner circle, you are sitting at the top of a tree where many people would like to sit,” Hampshire told H6 in a 2020 letter.
A letter from Mr Hampshire mentioning a birthday party was found on the H6’s terminal when it was stopped at port in November 2021.
Mr Hampshire, 56, is a former Scots Guardsman who rose to the rank of captain and spent the last three of his decade in the army as a squire to the Duke of Kent.
He said his role included “managing the professional life” of the Duke of Kent, and official records show that in the late 1990s he attended Queen Elizabeth II on royal trips to countries including France, Canada and the South. It has been revealed that he accompanied His Royal Highness, his cousin. Africa.
The married father-of-two, from Chalfont St Peter, Hampshire, said in court documents published on Thursday that he was a Chinese civil servant who was banned from entering the UK because he claimed to be Chinese. was described as an “advisor” to Prince Andrew in the negotiations. A secret agent who collects information on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. [CCP].
Mr. Hampshire has long acted as a “fixer” for members of the royal family and other “rich people.”
Former Interior Minister Suela Braverman announced that H6 had been arrested in 2023 after the ministry found that he had engaged in “covert and deceptive activities” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). prohibited from entering the country.
The court upheld the ban on Thursday, ruling that Braverman was “entitled to conclude that his exclusion was just and proportionate.”
The specialist tribunal heard that the businessman was told by Prince Andrew’s adviser Dominic Hampshire (pictured) that he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential Chinese investors.
Prince Andrew stepped back from senior royal duties at the end of 2019 following public backlash over a BBC television interview in which he defended his friendship with Epstein.
In February 2022, the former Royal Navy helicopter pilot, 64, settled a US civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17 years old.
Andrew has denied all allegations of cheating.
Shortly after, Queen Elizabeth stripped him of his honorary military title and patronage, effectively banning him from royal life.
