If Yang Tengbo’s mission was to penetrate the heart of the British establishment then it must be said that he did an exceptional job.
Operating in plain sight as an Anglophile Chinese businessman keen to forge meaningful links between the two nations, he infiltrated top institutions with astonishing success.
Now that an order forbidding naming the alleged spy formerly known as H6 has been lifted, Tengbo’s incredible web of influence across British society can be disclosed for the first time.
As well as the 50-year-old’s intimate ties with Prince Andrew, it can be revealed that he owned a business with ‘the most connected woman in Britain’ and was instrumental in opening branches of the school attended by the King in China.
Tengbo – who also met senior Tories including David Cameron and Theresa May – invested in a fashion and soft furnishings company with the late former chair of both the UK Atomic Energy Authority and the Institute of Directors, Lady Barbara Judge.
With an uncanny sense of timing, Tengbo rode to the rescue during a rare moment of vulnerability in Lady Judge’s life.
With his financial support – and in return for a 40 per cent share – Lady Judge was able to launch B&H Enterprise after quitting the IoD amid allegations of bullying, racism and sexism in 2018.
Lady Judge resigned as chair of the IoD after law firm Hill Dickinson filed a report accusing her of more than 40 episodes of unreasonable behaviour.
Yang Tengbo at an event alongside a laughing Prince Andrew, who is now facing questions about their relationship
Tengbo also met senior Tories including Theresa May, also seen here with her husband, Philip
The alleged spy alongside former Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha
Radio Four’s Women’s Hour described Lady Judge as ‘one of the best-connected women in Britain.’
As well as chair of the IoD, she was a previous chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the UK’s fraud prevention service Cifas, chair of the Pension Protection Fund, and an ambassador on behalf of UK Trade & Investment.
She was also a trustee of several cultural and charitable institutions, including the Royal Academy of Arts and Dementia UK.
Ably straddling so many influential roles across some of Britain’s most important institutions and unhindered by Royal protocols, Lady Judge would have had the sort of power and access that Prince Andrew could only dream of.
In addition to winning over captains of industry, Tengbo played a crucial role in establishing Gordonstoun School in China.
The historic £41,250-a-year Gordonstoun, attended by the King and his father Prince Philip, was the birthplace of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the Round Square conference of schools.
Tengbo’s company, the Hampton Group, oversaw the opening of the school in China in 2022, much to the consternation of some of its illustrious alumni.
Among them was director and author Justin Baldwin, who captained Gordonstoun’s hockey team before directing Cash In Hand, starring Richard E Grant.
Tengbo invested in a fashion and soft furnishings company with the late former chair of both the UK Atomic Energy Authority and the Institute of Directors, Lady Barbara Judge
Tengbo (far right) posing with Andrew at an event to encourage trade between China and Britain
When the move was first announced he said: ‘Why would we put a school in a country where they have camps to convert Muslims by feeding them pork? That’s everything that [Gordonstoun’s founder] Kurt Hahn was against.’
In a statement issued on his behalf, Mr Yang said he had done “nothing wrong or unlawful” and descriptions of him as an alleged spy were “entirely untrue”.
The statement said he had voluntarily waived his right to anonymity.
Mr Yang said: “Due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity. I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded. 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 decision. It is also why an order extending my anonymity up to the point of determination of the appeal process was granted.
“I have been excluded from seeing most of the evidence that was used against me under a process which is widely acknowledged by SIAC practitioners as inherently unfair: decisions are made based on secret evidence and closed proceedings, which has been described as ‘taking blind shots at a hidden target’.
“On their own fact finding, even the three judges in this case concluded that there was ‘not an abundance of evidence’ against me, their decision was ‘finely balanced’, and there could be an ‘innocent explanation’ for my activities. This has not been reported in the media.
“The political climate has changed, and unfortunately, I have fallen victim to this. When relations are good, and Chinese investment is sought, I am welcome in the UK. When relations sour, an anti-China stance is taken, and I am excluded.
Tengbo went by the more anglicised name of Chris Yang
Tengbo insisted he was a ‘independent self-made entrepreneur’ who wanted 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,’ he continued.
‘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.”
