A suspected Chinese spy with business ties to Prince Andrew has been barred from the UK because of concerns he poses a threat to national security.
British authorities believe the Chinese national, whose name wasn’t released, was working on behalf of the United Front Work Department, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party that is used to influence foreign entities. Andrew’s finances have been squeezed in recent years after he was forced to step away from royal duties and give up public funding amid concerns about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier and convicted pedophile who committed suicide in prison in 2019.
In 2022, Britain’s domestic intelligence service, known as MI5, warned politicians that a British-Chinese lawyer had been seeking to improperly influence members of Parliament for years. He earned a master’s degree in public administration and public policy at the University of York before starting a business that advises UK - based companies on their operations in China.
“I also hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family,” the adviser wrote.