Christine Lee, a lawyer accused of trying to interfere in British politics on behalf of the Chinese government, on Tuesday lost her legal challenge against the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency MI5.
The tribunal decision came the day after British authorities named Chinese national Yang Tengbo as an alleged spy who cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and was photographed with two British prime ministers.
Here’s the latest.
Who is Yang Tengbo?
Yang, 50, also known as Chris Yang, is listed as a director of Hampton Group International, a business consultancy advising U.K.-based companies on their operations in China. He has been photographed at events with senior U.K. politicians, including former prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
Yang is reportedly a key member of Pitch@Palace China, an initiative from Prince Andrew to support entrepreneurs.
Yang worked as a junior civil servant in China before arriving in the U.K. in 2002 to study. He earned a master’s degree in public administration and public policy at the University of York before starting his business.
He was granted the right to live and work in the U.K. for an indefinite period in 2013.
What happened with Prince Andrew?
Details about Yang’s case emerged last week at a tribunal, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which upheld a decision by British authorities to ban Yang from entering the U.K. in 2023. The Home Office said he was believed to have carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for the Chinese Communist Party.
Judges agreed with MI5, Britain’s domestic intelligence, that Yang “represented a risk to the national security” and dismissed his appeal. The tribunal heard that in 2021, authorities found documents that showed how close Yang was to Prince Andrew, King Charles’s younger brother.
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One letter from a senior adviser to Andrew told Yang, “Outside of [Andrew’s] closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.”
Britain’s Home Office told Yang they had reason to believe he was “engaging, or had previously engaged, in covert and deceptive activity on behalf of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), which is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state apparatus,” in a letter quoted in SIAC’s ruling.
The tribunal said that when Yang was interviewed by immigration authorities, he failed to give a full account of his relationship with the prince.
Authorities have not made public what information Yang allegedly obtained or was seeking to obtain. But the tribunal cited a 2022 statement by the MI5 director that described the United Front Work Department’s aims as buying and exerting influence, amplifying pro-China voices and silencing those critical of the Chinese government’s authority.
Who is Christine Lee?
Britain’s Security Service issued a security alert to all lawmakers in January 2022 warning that London-based lawyer Christine Lee was knowingly engaged in “political interference activities in the U.K.” in co-ordination with the United Front Work Department.
Lee’s firm, Christine Lee & Co., provided legal services mainly to the British Chinese community and had acted as a legal advisor to the Chinese embassy in London. According to official records, she donated 500,000 pounds ($906,000 Cdn) to Labour MP Barry Gardiner, mostly for office costs. Her son, Daniel Wilks, worked as an aide to Gardiner for five years.
Lee once received recognition from the Prime Minister’s Office, during the term of Theresa May, for “promoting engagement, understanding and co-operation between the Chinese and British communities in the U.K.”
On Tuesday, three judges at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal unanimously dismissed Lee’s claims, saying MI5 had issued the warning about political interference for “legitimate reasons.”
The response from Beijing
Yang strongly denied the espionage claims and said he was a victim of a changing political climate that had seen a rise in tensions between Britain and China.
“I have done nothing wrong or unlawful,” he said in a statement. “The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Tuesday called the spying allegations against Yang “ridiculous,” while the Chinese Embassy in Britain condemned U.K. lawmakers for “smearing” China.
Lee, who was not accused of a criminal offence, argued the security alert against her was political and that it breached her human rights.
The response in British Parliament
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is concerned about the challenge posed by China, but stood by his government’s strategy of engagement and co-operation with Beijing.
Starmer, who took office this summer, has sought to repair frayed ties and in November became the first British leader to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping since 2018.
Opposition lawmaker Iain Duncan Smith, a leading critic of Beijing, said that glosses over the clear threat China poses.
“The reality is that there are many, many more involved in exactly this kind of espionage that’s taking place,” he said.
Another royal headache
Andrew’s office said Friday the royal met Yang “through official channels” and nothing of a sensitive nature was ever discussed. The statement did not specify the date when the prince had “ceased all contact” with Yang.
Andrew was named Britain’s special representative for international trade and investment in 2001. But he was forced to step down in 2011 amid growing concern about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, who had been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Look back as Prince Andrew blasted for what many view as a disastrous interview with the BBC, in which he spoke about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and denied any wrongdoing.
Andrew gave a disastrous interview to BBC in 2019 in explaining the nature of the Epstein relationship. Andrew strenuously denied that he had sexually abused a teen he met through Epstein, but in 2021 he settled a lawsuit she filed, donating a sum of money to the accuser’s charity.
Early the next year, Queen Elizabeth stripped him of his honorary military roles and he gave up his leadership of various charities.
Britain’s most prominent anti-monarchy group has called for a parliamentary inquiry into alleged royal corruption.
“When a Chinese spy befriends a royal, they want access to the British state. We must know if the royals have given them what they want,” said Graham Smith, leader of Republic.
