Prestigious Scottish private school severs ties with business over Chinese spy claim

The King’s former school has severed ties with a business over allegations the chairman has been spying for the Chinese government.

Gordonstoun school in Moray has called off an agreement with Hampton Group International after chairman and shareholder Yang Tengbo was named as the alleged Chinese spy known by the alias “H6”.

One of the buildings of the Gordonstoun School, in Elgin, in the Scottish Highlands where Britain's King Charles III was a pupil. Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images | AFP via Getty Images

The deal between the school and Hampton would have led to the opening of five new schools in China, all with close links to Gordonstoun.

On Monday, Mr Tengbo and his legal team made the decision to make his identity public in light of the spying allegations. Mr Tengbo, a close associate of the Duke of York, has strongly denied the accusations.

Prince Andrew was once a student at Gordonstoun, but now has no ties to the school. King Charles was also educated at Gordonstoun.

King Charles III has given The King's Award for Voluntary Service to nine groups in Lancashire. Credit: Getty | POOL/AFP via Getty Images

A spokesperson for the school said: “Gordonstoun has been made aware that Yang Tengbo, the chairman of the Hampton Group, has been named as the alleged Chinese spy known as ‘H6’.

“Following this information, Gordonstoun terminated its contract with the Hampton Group. For legal reasons, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”

Mr Yang, who is also known as Chris Yang, has been banned from the UK since last year. He challenged his ban on entering the UK at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in July, but lost his appeal last week.

He has insisted he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”, and said it is “entirely untrue” to claim he was involved in espionage. Mr Yang claimed he was a victim of a “political climate” that had seen a rise in tensions between the UK and China.

In a statement after a High Court judge lifted an order granting him anonymity, he 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.”

In a further development, judges have ruled MI5 had "legitimate reasons" to warn MPs about a lawyer accused of working for the Chinese government.

The security service warned that it believed Christine Lee had engaged in "political interference and activities" for a branch of the Chinese Communist Party in an alert that came in January 2022 after a series of donations to Labour MP Barry Gardiner .

The ruling puts further pressure on the Government to designate China a security threat. The Prime Minister has said the UK is "alert" to risks posed by China and it is "better to engage".

On Tuesday, Ms Lee lost her legal challenge against the security service after three judges at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal said MI5 had issued the warning for "legitimate reasons".

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith suggested the Government has questions to answer about whether Ms Lee should remain in the UK after losing her legal challenge.

He said: "My question would be more to the Government. What are the intelligence services going to do now?

"Either they think that she remains a threat, in which case she shouldn't be here, or if she is not, then they should be clear about that."

Shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns called on the Government to implement a register of foreign influence swiftly, but said the move would be "by no means the end of the measures we need to better protect our people".

She said: "The risk from the Chinese Communist Party is plain to see. Why do Labour insist on ignoring it?

"We are seeing industrialised levels of espionage and infiltration of our state and society at all levels.

"We need to see FIRS (Foreign Influence Registration Scheme) implemented in full as soon as possible with China in the enhanced tier."

Mr Gardiner, MP for Brent West , told the BBC's Politics Live he had ceased all contact with Ms Lee on the advice of the security services.

He insisted money he received from her had been for the "public good in my office", and that none of it had come from an illegal source, according to MI5.