The former attorney general said ministers had failed to act on recommendations to strengthen security laws that could have stopped Prince Andrew from being targeted by suspected Chinese spies.
Dominic Grieve, a former Conservative MP who chaired the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) until 2019, said ministers were advised five years ago to introduce legislation to criminalize foreign agents. , said it could not be carried out. Similar laws already exist in the United States and Australia.
“We don't have any significant weapons left in our arsenal,” Grieve said. “What we asked for was [this law] In the context of the Russia Inquiry Report, which accused the Government of failing to investigate Russian interference in British politics, and in my opinion, we very much need that. This reinforces the need to do it. ”
On December 13, court documents revealed that a businessman accused of being a Chinese spy had become a “close entourage” to Prince Andrew, Duke of York. It turns out that Andrew invited this man to Buckingham Palace.
In 2019, the ISC recommended that ministers make it a criminal offense to act as an agent of a foreign power without disclosing that fact. Foreign agents could be arrested if Congress adopts the new law.
“If you operate in the United States and pretend to be a businessman, but are actually on the payroll of the Chinese state and do not divulge that, prosecute that person as an undisclosed agent of a foreign power. “We can do that,” Grieve said. observer.
In February 2023, a man referred to in court papers as H6 was prevented from flying from Beijing to London, and in March 2023 the then Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced that his presence was in the UK's interests. Entry from the UK was prohibited on the grounds that the country would not become public interest.
Mr. H6 appealed to the Special Immigration Appeals Board, but his claim was denied last week. The ruling found that H6 had “attempted to conceal or downplay” its relationship with the United Front Work Department, which collects information about the Chinese Communist Party.
The 2023 ISC report shows that Chinese intelligence has collected vast amounts of information and targeted people at all levels of political and national life, especially those who have lost power or influence and are deemed more vulnerable. He said there was.
Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties in November 2019 after facing public backlash when he tried to defend his friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein on the BBC. news night Interview. His only income now is reportedly a £20,000 a year pension from the Royal Navy.
That makes him vulnerable to such approaches, says author Andrew Rowney, who is writing a biography about Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.
“I'm concerned that some members of the royal family are at risk from the Chinese,” Lowney said. “He's not alone.”
The Duke of York's involvement with suspected Chinese spies comes a month after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain needed a “strong Anglo-Chinese relationship” after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit. I woke up.
Prime Minister Rachel Reeves is scheduled to visit Beijing for trade talks in January, just before Donald Trump becomes U.S. president for a second time and is likely to impose tough tariffs on imports from China.
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Prince Andrew, 64, faces accusations that he used his status and publicly-funded official overseas travel as a cover to make money in private business deals and promote his status. . dragon's denThe Pitch@Palace project connects young companies with investors.
When Andrew was the UK's special representative for international trade and investment from 2001 to 2011, he took financier David Rowland, with whom he had a commercial relationship, on official trips and offered the businessman's services. was pitched to high-ranking officials.
of sunday times Chinese spy suspect Meeting with former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa Mayanother time.
Mr Lowney said he was unable to conduct research for the new book, even though documents detailing who accompanied Mr Andrew on his official trips, for example, should be made public after 20 years under public records laws. He said he was having a hard time.
He said: “For too long, the royal family's finances have been shrouded in secrecy. The various scandals surrounding not just Andrew, but other members of the royal family, mean we can't trust them to police themselves. it is clear.
“The time has come for the exemptions afforded to them under the Freedom of Information Act to be removed, for the Royal Will to be made public and for a register of royal interests to be established.
“We also discuss Mr Andrew’s 10 years as Special Representative, his use of the Pitch@Palace and how he has built a lavish lifestyle over the past 20 years in order to maintain faith in the monarchy.” There needs to be some investigation into that.”
On Friday, Andrew said he had “cut off all contact” with the businessman when concerns about him were first raised. A statement from his office said Andrew met with the person through “official channels” and “did not discuss any sensitive matters.”
