A Chinese ‘spy’ who grew close to Prince Andrew must be unmasked by the courts, it was demanded on Sunday.
The suspected operative knew the duke for a decade, prompting major concerns about national security and Beijing‘s influence on the British establishment.
The Mail can reveal that as well as royals and former prime ministers, the alleged agent also mixed with captains of industry – leading to calls for him to be identified publicly amid fears there may be others in high office who are unaware they have had dealings with a supposed spy.
He can currently only be referred to as H6, thanks to an anonymity ruling by an immigration court that banned him from Britain on the grounds of national security.
Yet, making a mockery of that order, the 50-year-old’s name and picture is being used wantonly in Chinese and US news reports and on social media, in coverage seen by millions around the globe.
The matter is due to be reconsidered by High Court judges as early as this week. Last night, MPs urged judges to lift the order as soon as possible – or face the prospect of MPs using Parliamentary Privilege to name him in the Commons or the Lords without fear of legal recriminations.
Chris Philp, Shadow Home Secretary, said: ‘It is in the public interest for this to be fully transparent. It is important to completely expose Chinese infiltration where it occurs.
‘There may be other people who agent H6 contacted or dealt with and if he is publicly named those people will then be able to come forward and contact the security services. That is why it’s important the anonymity order is lifted as soon as possible.’
A Chinese ‘spy’ who grew close to Prince Andrew (pictured) must be unmasked by the courts, it was demanded on Sunday
The Mail can reveal that as well as royals and former prime ministers, the alleged agent also mixed with captains of industry. Pictured: Prince Andrew with the alleged Chinese spy
As revealed by The Mail on Sunday, the businessman has boasted about visiting Downing Street, and kept photographs of meeting former prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May on the desk of his plush London office.
Footage from an interview with Chinese state-controlled TV included also included claims he was invited to No 10 to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
The Mail has further learned the suspect was in business with very senior types in the UK, with access to countless high-profile establishment figures, but who cannot be named because of the draconian anonymity order.
The Special Immigration Appeals Court (SIAC) previously ruled the businessman could be named, but he launched an appeal meaning he can only be referred to in the UK by the H6 cipher.
Critics, however, cited the example of two British nationals – former Parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and teacher Christopher Berry – who were named in UK courts after being charged with spying for China.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: ‘As this case of the spy at the heart of Whitehall has shown, there is substantial evidence that China works to undermine our institutions and the very values which underpin our county.
‘It is in the public interest to know the full facts behind the spy. We cannot turn a blind eye to the hostile incursions of China.’
Chris Philp, Shadow Home Secretary, said: ‘It is in the public interest for this to be fully transparent. It is important to completely expose Chinese infiltration where it occurs’
Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union campaign group, said: ‘The British state doesn’t have a duty to protect the identity of foreign nationals accused of spying.
‘The suspect has been named by the media in China and the US… so refusing to allow the British media to name him would therefore be pointless. His name is already out there.’
Former Tory party leader and leading China hawk Sir Iain Duncan Smith is due to apply for an Urgent Question to raise concerns about Chinese state influence when the Commons sits today.
Reform leader Nigel Farage, last night told the Mail he would be prepared to use Parliamentary Privilege to name the alleged spy, and said: ‘Reform UK think that this is an issue that is so important that the public deserve the truth.’
Such a move has previously been used by politicians in legal cases involving former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs, ex-Topshop boss Sir Philip Green and a soldier accused of Troubles-related murders.
Claims involving H6 and Andrew emerged on Thursday, when it was confirmed the former had been banned from entering the UK by then-home secretary Suella Braverman in a move backed by MI5.
Legal papers show Andrew’s ‘close confidant’ had been working on the basis that the disgraced duke was in ‘a desperate situation and will grab on to anything’.
Andrew and the suspect first met in 2012 but it was not until 2022, after the former Chinese civil servant was rumbled by security services, that the Duke of York ‘dropped’ him.
‘He said that he met H6 through ‘official channels’ with ‘nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed’.
Labour admitted relations with China were ‘complex’, but refused to criticise the nation citing the countries’ ‘economic’ relationship.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘We will continue to take a very strong approach to our national security, that includes to any challenge to our national security including to our economic security from China, from other countries around the world, that will always be the approach that we will take.’