The revelations about the alleged espionage of a Chinese businessman linked to the prince andrew have caused a new scandal in the UK. The pressure from the opposition for the Labor Government to toughen its tone with China has been increasing in recent hours, after it became known that the alleged spy, identified this Monday as Yang Reednot only had contact with the king’s brother but also with former prime ministers such as David Cameron and Theresa May. The prime minister, Keir Starmerhas shown its “concern” about the information revealed in recent days but has avoided for now take tough measures against Beijing as retaliation.
The scandal began late last week, when three judges from the Commission on Special Immigration Appeals confirmed the UK entry ban for Tangboinitially ordered in 2023 by the then Minister of the Interior, Suella Braverman. In their brief, published last week, the judges considered that the relationship between Tangbo and Prince Andrew “could be taken advantage of for the purposes of political interference” and pose a threat to national security, something that justified the decision to deny him entry into the country. The Chinese businessman had gained the trust of the king’s brother and was even authorized to negotiate on his behalf with Chinese investors.
Alleged espionage
The judges also noted that Tangbo had hidden his links with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and highlighted the investigations of MI5, the British intelligence service, which suggest that the alleged spy worked for the United Front Work Department, an office in charge of collect information on third countries for the Chinese authorities. Some accusations that he himself REED He denied this Monday. “I am a self-made independent businessman and have always aimed to encourage partnerships and build bridges between East and West”, he assured through a statement.
“I have built my private life in the United Kingdom over two decades and I love the country like my second home. He would never do anything that would harm the interests of the United Kingdom,” said the alleged spy, who added that even the three judges in this case came to the conclusion that “there was not an abundance of evidence” against him and that there could be a ” innocent explanation” about his activities.
Opposition pressure
Yangbo’s explanations have failed to convince the deputies of the Conservative Party and the populist right-wing party Reform UKwho have demanded the Government take measures to stop China’s alleged interference in the country. One of them is the application of Foreign Influence Registration Systemincluded in the National Security law passed last year, which requires registration of all people who carry out activities in the United Kingdom on behalf of third countries. This system was to have come into effect this year, but the Labor government decided to postpone its application as goodwill gesture towards China.
“The reality is that there are many more involved exactly in this type of espionage that is being carried out,” said the former leader of the Conservative Party and member of the House of Commons. Iain Duncan Smith. Tory MPs have pointed out that this case is just “the tip of the iceberg” and they have accused the Executive of avoiding a confrontation with Beijing. “The rather fawning tone the Prime Minister adopted with President Xi [Jinping] at the G20 a few weeks ago may not be very prudent in light of what we know now,” said the Conservative Party’s Home Affairs spokesperson. Chris Philp.
Starmer has expressed his “concern about the challenge posed by China”but he has insisted on the importance of maintaining a “pragmatic” relationship with the Chinese Government, with whom he has tried to bring closer positions since his arrival at Downing Street, aware of the importance of the Asian giant in attracting investments and in the objective to accelerate economic growth as soon as possible. “Our approach is to commitment and cooperation on the issues that are necessary, such as climate change, and to challenge in other areas, such as human rights,” the prime minister said this morning.
Tension in the royal family
Starmer has avoided assessing the relationship between Yangbo and Prince Andrew and has limited himself to remembering that there is an “old convention” which consists of “not talking” about conversations between Downing Street and the royal family. Everything indicates that this episode has caused a earthquake at buckingham palacewho announced this Monday that the king’s brother Christmas won’t happen with the rest of the family, something he did do in previous years.
The relationship between Andrew and Charles III has cooled in recent months due to the refusal of the king’s brother to leave his expensive current residence, the Royal Lodge, to move to Frogmore Cottage, where Prince Henry and Meghan Markle resided before settling in the United States. Andrés has chosen to continue in his current home and pay the expenses out of his own pocket, although it is not clear where he has obtained the funds to meet the high bill associated with the maintenance and security of the building.
