How did a junior Chinese civil servant who arrived in Britain to do a master’s degree at York University end up as such a close confidant of the Duke of York that he was described as “the very top of the tree” by the prince’s adviser?
Yang Tengbo, 50, also known as Christopher Yang, was able to move in the highest circles of the British establishment. He was invited to Prince Andrew’s 60th birthday party at Royal Lodge, in Windsor, joined visits to St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle, attended a Chinese new year celebration at Downing Street with David Cameron and was pictured in black tie alongside Theresa May and her husband, Philip.
Yang was the chair of Hampton Group, a strategic advisory group that said it could advise UK companies on their affairs in China, with offices behind the Ritz hotel in London’s Mayfair.
He was also a senior member of the committee of Pitch@Palace in China, the duke’s Dragons’ Den-style initiative, which offered opportunities for entrepreneurs to meet investors.
Yang was filmed for a Chinese television documentary in which he showed photographs of himself alongside Cameron and May, displayed prominently on his desk.
He appears to have held senior positions in UK-China business groups, was described as the executive chair of the China Business Council in the UK, and was an honorary member of a Sino-British business association, the 48 Group Club, which had a number of prominent UK figures as members.
According to court documents, the businessman was so close to the Duke of York, he was authorised to act on his behalf in an international financial initiative with potential partners and investors in China.
Investigators uncovered fawning letters from one of Prince Andrew’s advisers and a briefing note connected to the Chinese embassy which described the duke as “desperate”.
In the judgment, rejecting his appeal against the decision to exclude him, the judge found he “won a significant degree, one could say an unusual degree, of trust from a senior member of the royal family who was prepared to enter into business activities with him.
“That occurred in a context where, as the contemporaneous documents record, the duke was under considerable pressure and could be expected to value the applicant’s loyal support. It is obvious that the pressures on the duke could make him vulnerable to the misuse of that sort of influence.”
A statement from his office said: “The duke met the individual through official channels, with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
Their friendship came at a time of significant turmoil for the duke, who was under the spotlight for his dealings with the businessman and convicted child sexual abuse offender Jeffrey Epstein – and allegations against Andrew himself that he had participated in sexual activities with a minor, Virginia Giuffre.
Until the Covid pandemic, Yang spent almost half his time in the UK and told the court he considered the UK to be his second home. He had been in the UK for almost 20 years.
UK security services suspected Yang to be associated with an arm of the Chinese state known as the united front work department (UFWD). It has been described as one of the “magic weapons” of the Chinese Communist party, with a purpose to befriend influential figures and win them over to China’s way of thinking.
It is unclear what finally prompted security services to act – but Yang was stopped at an airport on 6 November 2021 and surrendered his devices, including his mobile phone.
On the devices, officials found he had extraordinary access to Andrew, with letters from one of the duke’s senior advisers written in a warm and gushing tone. But it took another 15 months for authorities to act decisively.
In February 2023, Yang was stopped and “off-boarded” from a flight from Beijing to London and was told the British home secretary was in the process of making a decision to exclude him from the UK. That decision was confirmed the following month.
The letter found on Yang’s phone from Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to Prince Andrew, dated from March 2020 and referred to him being invited to the duke’s birthday party that month. It said: “I also hope that it is clear to you where you sit with my principal and indeed his family.
“You should never underestimate the strength of that relationship. Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on.”
The letter suggested the relationship had a potentially secretive nature, saying: “We have found a way to carefully remove those people who we don’t completely trust … we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor.”
Hampshire wrote again in October 2020, giving Yang extraordinary authority to act on behalf of the prince in doing business deals with China. The letter gave Yang permission to represent Andrew on the Eurasia fund, an international finance initiative that engages potential Chinese investors.
Investigators also uncovered a document that they believed involved the Chinese embassy providing questions to be asked on a call between Yang and the prince.
It said Yang should “manage expectations” and that it was “really important to not set ‘too high’ expectations – he is in a desperate situation and will grab on to anything.” It said: “Key message: everything is going well; going to plan c. Do not mention any ‘big numbers’ as this will create ‘unnecessary expectation and pressure’.
“If he does talk about money: ‘things are going well, discussing with Dominic who will follow up’ b. If he asks about when deals are happening: ‘making’ good progress; not immediately but in the not too distant future 13. It is better to under-promise and then over-deliver.”
Despite the “talking points” memo, which refers to “money”, there is no evidence any payment was made between the two.
In his witness statement in June last year, Yang downplayed his links with the UFWD but officials suspected him of having close connections with the operation, according to the court documents.
When interviewed, Yang said he “avoids getting involved in politics and has no connections to anyone in politics in China”. That was rejected by officials, who said the evidence on his devices showed he was “frequently connected to officials associated with the Chinese state”.
In a statement issued on his behalf, Yang rejected allegations of spying. He said: “The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue. This is why I applied for a review of the Home Office decision in the first place, and why I am seeking permission to appeal the Siac [Special Immigration Appeals Commission] decision …
“I am an independent, self-made entrepreneur and I have always aimed to foster partnerships and build bridges between east and west. I have dedicated my professional life in the UK to building links between British and Chinese businesses. My activities have played a part in bringing hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the UK.
“I built my private life in the UK over two decades and love the country as my second home. I would never do anything to harm the interests of the UK.”
