Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer has voiced concerns over the extent of allegations of spying by China
LONDON – The UK government Monday voiced growing concerns over allegations of espionage by China, as a Chinese businessman with links to disgraced Prince Andrew denied being a spy.
Amid the fallout from a fresh scandal, UK media reported that Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson would not join his brother King Charles III and the royal family at Sandringham for Christmas this year.
Last week details emerged about Andrew’s relationship with Yang Tengbo, a businessman and alleged spy, who had been banned from the UK.
The growing furore around the case prompted an urgent question in the UK parliament, and drew comments from Prime Minister Keir Starmer on a visit to Norway.
“Of course we are concerned about the challenge that China poses,” Starmer said during a press conference with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store in Bergen, but he defended his approach of “engagement” with Beijing.
“Our approach is one of engagement, of cooperating where we need to cooperate, particularly, for example, on issues like climate change, to challenge where we must and where we should,” he added.
In a statement Monday, Yang Tengbo, who was reportedly once invited to Andrew’s birthday party, insisted he had “done nothing wrong or unlawful”. He called the claims “ill-founded” and said he had “fallen victim” to a changing “political climate”.
“The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue,” Yang added, noting he
Read More