The spy at the palace: ‘Prince Andrew’s judgement of people is not the greatest’
An alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo, was friends with Prince Andrew and had access to other high ranking UK officials. But what does this mean for the Royal, and what can be done about China’s infiltration?
Listen to this article
Read time: 4 mins
In brief…
- A former British spy chief tells The News Agents that the scale of China’s covert operations are likely much bigger than anyone realises.
- Nigel Inkster says this highlights Andrew’s lack of judgement, rather than having committed any crime.
- He says the West must be prepared to work with China, despite infringements such as this.
What’s the story?
Prince Andrew has found himself, once again, at the heart of a national scandal.
This time, his friendship with a Chinese businessman, believed to be a spy for the country’s communist leaders, has come under scrutiny after details of his infiltration of British society became public.
The man, Yang Tengbo, first had his phone – and all the classified data it held – seized in 2021.
Tengbo has been described as a “close confidant” of Prince Andrew, and attended the royal’s birthday party in 2020, and had access to Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle.
The duke has said he “ceased all contact” with the alleged spy when questions about his true motives were first raised.
Suella Braverman, former Home Secretary, first excluded Tengbo from the UK in 2023 due to national security concerns, with the Home Office describing some of his activities as “covert and deceptive activity”.
The man is also known to have been photographed at official events with both David Cameron and Theresa May – although both have said in official statements that they have no memory of meeting the alleged spy, as they were photographed with many strangers during their times as Prime Minister.
Nigel Inkster, former director of operations and intelligence for the British Secret Intelligence Service, tells The News Agents he is "fairly confident" that there will be more infiltration than anyone currently realises.
What does this mean for Prince Andrew?
It’s not a great look for Prince Andrew, being caught up in a spy scandal just a few years after his friendship with convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was uncovered, but Inkster says his involvement in this drama is simply "unfortunate".
“There seems to be an emerging consensus that Prince Andrew’s judgment about people is not the greatest,” he says.
“This case developed at a time when Prince Andrew was under significant financial pressure having been effectively cut off from the finances of the Royal household.
“One would have to say he's guilty of naivety and poor judgment – neither of which is a criminal offence.”
What can be done about China’s infiltration?
Inkster describes China, which has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1949, as being a "rather unique problem" on the world stage.
“There's nothing quite like it – its size, its commercial and technological impact.”
He says there are lessons to be learned from how the West previously dealt with Russia, which cannot be repeated with any action taken against China.
“We can't ignore it. We can't shut it down. We can't do what we did with the Soviet Union and basically, kind of put a ‘cordon sanitaire’ around it, so we have to work out how to deal with it,” he says..
He wants to see the same restrictions put on outsiders in China, to people from China when they are in the UK.
“If China wants to build a large embassy in a prominent position in London, then we should make sure that our own plans to build the embassy we want in Beijing are not obstructed and so on and so forth.”
But he describes Donald Trump's lack of trust in China as a "bigger elephant in the room", describing the president-elect's likely approach with China as "pretty competitive".
Trump has promised to put tariffs on all imported goods from China brought to the US, promising this will bring down prices for the American consumer, but experts have warned the reverse is more likely to happen.
What’s The News Agents’ take?
Jon Sopel says the whole situation is like something out of a spy thriller.
"You've got the Royal Family, you've got a Chinese spy, you've got this attempt at so-called elite capture, where someone has infiltrated themselves into the heart of the British establishment," he says, ticking off the plot-points of what could make a gripping TV drama.
Emily Maitlis is more confused by the blame laid at Prince Andrew's door.
"There is absolutely nothing to suggest that he knew this man was a spy, a good spy," she says.
"It's not like Andrew carried on a relationship having been warned
"We know that the alleged spy met British Prime Ministers and they've all distanced themselves very cleverly and very quickly from him."
Lewis Goodall is thinking about the UK more broadly, and how much this country needs investment from countries like China if it is to achieve any of the economic goals set out by Labour.
"We are desperate, and the government is desperate for Chinese investment. And every time there is a story like this, it makes that much harder," he says.
He says this is particularly the case if the UK government is seen "downplaying" the levels of Chinese infiltration.
Starmer has said he is "concerned" by the details of the alleged spy and the degree to which he could gain access to such powerful people and key locations.