On the surface, he was a successful business consultant who advised big-hitting firms including McLaren and pharmaceutical giant GSK.
But behind the scenes, Prince Andrew’s confidant may have been trading in something far more sinister: Secrets.
Born and educated in China, the self-styled entrepreneur – known only as ‘H6’ for legal reasons – started his career as a civil servant there, but dreamed of something more.
In 2002, aged 28, he moved to the UK hoping to advance his career. After a year spent learning English, he studied for a master’s degree in public administration and policy at the University of York.
It is unclear when he is alleged to have come under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but at some point he abandoned plans to return home, instead choosing to pursue a career in Britain.
Aged 31, he founded a company in London that initially provided travel services, but which soon developed into various other areas including business consultancy.
Splitting his time between China and the UK, the budding businessman sought to ‘bridge the gap’ between the two countries, advising companies on their dealings in the Far East.
As well as helping McLaren launch its high-end roadsters in Beijing and offering strategic analysis to GSK, he soon counted the China Minsheng Investment Group – one of the largest private equity firms in the world – as a client.
While his work was lucrative, the supposed spy told MI5 that Britain was more than just a money-spinner – it was his ‘second home’ where he had friends and a social life.
He was given indefinite leave to remain in the UK in 2013 and became an honorary member of the exclusive 48 Group Club, a networking organisation for executives and politicians.
The society has boasted Lord Heseltine and John Prescott as patrons, and speakers have included Sir Tony Blair and Jack Straw.
However, critics say the club, where membership costs up to £25,000 per year, is really a platform for the CCP to ‘groom’ British elites.
It is not known when H6 first made contact with the Duke of York about business opportunities in China, but the Home Office told immigration judges the relationship had a ‘covert and clandestine’ element.
The former civil servant soon became one of Andrew’s closest mentors. Dominic Hampshire, a senior adviser to the duke, told H6 in 2020 he should ‘never underestimate the strength’ of his relationship with Andrew.
But the supposed friend was apparently reporting back to China and receiving instructions on how to handle Andrew.
After being stopped at the UK border in November 2021, court documents say H6 vehemently denied having links to the CCP, saying he ‘avoids getting involved in politics as it has no space in business’.
However, in a 2023 witness statement he also argued it was ‘difficult’ for a Chinese businessman to avoid contact with the CCP.
As a thriving businessman, his work and private life were ‘intertwined’, he said, and banning him from Britain would ruin his life.
The Home Office ruled national security outweighed this ambitious man’s objections.