Prince Andrew has suffered a fresh blow in the latest Royal Family announcement.
A hearing over the anonymity of an alleged Chinese spy linked to the Duke of York will take place at the Royal Courts of Justice at 2pm on Monday, according to court listings.
This comes after Prince Andrew, 64, confirmed that he had “ceased all contact” with the alleged spy.
His statement says: “The Duke of York followed advice from HMG and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.
Prince Andrew suffers fresh blow in latest Royal Family announcement
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“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.”
A former security minister has said the revelations that the Duke of York had a close relationship with a man accused of being a Chinese spy are “extremely embarrassing”.
It comes after the Special Appeals Commission backed the banning of Andrew’s “confidant”, a businessman known only as H6, from the UK, adding that the duke had been “vulnerable because of the pressures on him”.
Prince Andrew said he has “ceased all contact” with H6 after concerns were raised and denies any wrongdoing
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Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP for Tonbridge who served in the Cabinet as minister of state for security under the previous Government, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “The United Front Work Department which is a branch of the Communist Party is seeking influence across the UK in everything across social, academic, financial, industrial, and various other ways.”
Asked whether Andrew’s advisers should have been aware of H6, Mr Tugendhat said: “It’s not immediately obvious, it could be someone who’s British who’s working in China and who’s come under the influence, so it’s not quite as black and white as it may first appear – but it’s certainly extremely embarrassing.
“It demonstrates I’m afraid that the Chinese State is extremely clear that what its ambition is is to secure influence over foreign countries.
“They always talk about no interference in other people’s business when people talk about human rights in China, but they do nothing but interfere in the UK and in many countries across the world.”
Sir Keir Starmer admitted he was “concerned about the challenge that China poses” after an alleged spy was able to form links at the heart of the British establishment.
The “close” confidant of the Duke of York was also pictured with senior politicians including Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May.
H6 remains anonymous, though an urgent hearing is due at the Royal Courts of Justice at 2pm on Monday.
A judge is expected to review whether the suspect can be named, due to last an hour-and-a-half, before the case will be discussed in the Commons.
