Suella Braverman has been leading calls to reveal the name of the alleged Chinese spy who was a “close confidant” of Prince Andrew.
The former Home Secretary has joined other senior Tories in saying the alleged spy, known only as H6, should lose his anonymity.
Braverman was Home Secretary under Rishi Sunak in July 2023 when the former Chinese civil servant was barred from entry to the UK on national security grounds.
MI5 claimed the man was an agent who had engaged in “covert and deceptive activity” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Braverman was home secretary in July 2023 when the former Chinese civil servant was barred from entry to the UK
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He was granted anonymity after challenging a decision by judges that he should be named.
Two judges for the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) had ruled that the Home Office was justified in barring the man to protect national security.
The SIAC had also initially granted H6 anonymity but this was lifted to take effect from December 6.
However, the man appealed the lifting of the anonymity order and was granted “interim relief” which means the High Court will decide at a later date if he should be named. There could be a hearing as early as next week.
Court documents have revealed that H6 was very close to Andrew and had been told he could act on the Duke of York’s behalf when dealing with potential Chinese investors.
He was also invited to the royal’s birthday party in 2020.
Braverman said there is a strong public interest and national security interest in disclosing the alleged spy’s identity.
She said: “We are under constant and almost incessant attack and threat from hostile states such as China.”
“We know that China is using all means necessary, particularly espionage and exploiting vulnerabilities in the UK, to get access to state secrets and other sensitive information that can harm our national security.”
She added: “So disclosing the identity of this person will have a deterrent effect on others taking part in similar activities and will also ensure full transparency is afforded to this issue of utmost national security importance.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philip agreed with Braverman, saying it was important to expose who foreign spies are because people might then come forward with information.
He said: “Chinese infiltration is a serious threat to the Government and to businesses and academia, with state-orchestrated intellectual property theft rife.”
Tom Tugendhat urged the government to activate the foreign influence registration scheme
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Former security minister Tom Tugendhat branded Prince Andrew’s association with the alleged spy as “extremely embarrassing,” saying it showed how the Chinese state was trying to seek influence and interfere in Britain’s and other countries’ affairs.
He urged the Government to activate the foreign influence registration scheme which he had legislated for when in power.
He said: “We really need to get China on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme, because without that, effectively you’re asking for people to hunt for a needle in a haystack without even giving them the haystack.”
“The registration scheme doesn’t mean that everybody who registers is in any way illegal or criminal or doing wrong in any sense, but it gives the intelligence services the essential starting point without which they simply can’t do their job.”
“So we need to make sure that they have that information. That’s why the scheme is so important.”
A statement from the Duke of York’s office said Prince Andrew had “ceased all contact” with the alleged spy after government advice. It also said the royal had never discussed topics of a sensitive nature with the man, and stated the Duke was unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy condemned this, and said some people in the UK were “keen on making up all kinds of ‘spy’ stories against China”.
“Their purpose is to smear China and sabotage normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the UK. We strongly condemn this.”
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