King Charles briefed by MI5 over major security breach involving Andrew and alleged Chinese spy

A royal source told the Daily Mirror that King Charles III has been "briefed about this situation" regarding suspected Chinese spy H6, and is aware of what is being done

The King has been briefed by British intelligence over a major security breach linking Prince Andrew to an alleged Chinese spy, the Mirror can reveal.

He was told counter-intelligence officers are probing how the scandal-hit Duke accepted the now banished Chinese suspect as his “confidante.” It emerged after the foreign “agent” lost his appeal this week against being barred from the UK as a threat to national security, having become friendly with the Prince.

The breach is the latest embarrassing twist caused by the Prince’s shady contacts following his association with multi-millionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. A royal source told The Mirror: “The King has been briefed about this situation regarding the suspected Chinese spy and is very aware of what has been and what is being done about it.”

The Duke of York’s latest nightmare was exposed after an alleged Chinese spy lost his appeal this week against being barred from the UK. The man, known only as H6, brought the case after being banned in March 2023 on national security grounds despite having become a close contact of the Duke of York.

Judges heard H6 formed a close working relationship with Prince Andrew, receiving an invite to his birthday party in 2020 and being told he could act on his behalf. But now it appears the UK's MI5 domestic intelligence agency suspects the Prince’s Chinese confidante may have become a “gateway” agent used to forge a path into Andrew’s network. British intelligence officials briefed the King's most senior aides who held an emergency meeting with the monarch over the severity of the situation.

Once a “gateway” is established that person would be able then introduce Chinese intelligence officers into the network being targeted, in this case Prince Andrew and his associates. It is believed the Prince was targeted because Chinese intelligence suspected he was vulnerable over his costly association with multi-millionaire monster Jeffrey Epstein.

Counter intelligence officers at MI5 are investigating how deeply H6 could have penetrated the royals’ network of contacts and who else could have been targeted by China. The suspect is believed to have worked for the United Front Work Department (UFWD), an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which launches “influence operations.”

One security source told the Daily Mirror: “The access this person would have had could have produced what China would view as a goldmine of information. Intelligence reporting on the Prince himself would have been of interest, perhaps producing telephone numbers, addresses, dates of forthcoming events and facts regarding his business and financial vulnerabilities.

"But crucially it would be about access to who he knows. In certain settings the Prince and his associates would have let their guard down lower than usual and this would have provided crucial access to powerful people. This means political and commercial targets of very high value may have been identified over a period of time and noted for future operations.

“And this person may have been able physically to get more people into the network, bringing in more intelligence officers to do more serious spying.” H6 brought his case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, set up to consider appeals against bans from the country on national security or related grounds.

But the judge said that the then-home secretary, Suella Braverman, was "entitled to conclude H6 represented a risk to UK national security and that she was entitled to conclude that his exclusion was justified and proportionate.” The hearing found H6 surrendered a number of electronic devices, including a mobile phone, after being stopped by UK border security in November 2021.

"On one of his electronic devices, a letter said: "Outside of closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree that many, many people would like to be on." It adds: "Under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor."

A document listing "main talking points" for a call with Prince Andrew was also found. It states: "IMPORTANT: Manage expectations. Really important to not set 'too high' expectations - he is in a desperate situation and will grab onto anything." The letters suggest Chinese intelligence handling the suspected spy timed their approach to Prince Andrew to exploit his vulnerability over the Jeffrey Epstein shocker.

In March 2020 the Duke was forced to resign from all public roles over links to Epstein, who died in prison, and socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in jail. In 2022 Prince Andrew paid £12million in a financial settlement to accuser Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he had sex with her, to avoid appearing in a US court.

She had claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was aged 17, having been trafficked by Epstein and they appeared to have been photographed together. Another royal source said the King was “truly exasperated by the ongoing situation with his brother”. Since becoming monarch Charles has cut him off financially and stripped him of his £3million a year security detail.

With Andrew’s finances in disarray, the King has also attempted to persuade the disgraced Duke to vacate his 30 room Royal Lodge mansion, in Windsor, and move into the four bedroom Frogmore Cottage residence vacated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the Windsor estate.

The Mirror revealed this year how Andrew was refusing to leave, citing a “cast iron lease” governed by the Crown Estate that the King has no jurisdiction over. In another letter detailed in this week’s court ruling, an adviser confirmed to H6 that he could act on behalf of the prince in engagements with potential partners and investors in China.

The court believed this meant H6 was in a position "to generate relationships between senior Chinese officials and prominent UK figures which could be leveraged for political interference purposes by the Chinese State.” The Home Office said they believed H6 was working for the China Communist Party and that his relationship with Prince Andrew could be used for political interference.

Upholding Braverman's decision, the judges said H6 had won an "unusual degree of trust from a senior member of the Royal Family who was prepared to enter into business activities with him.” They added that the relationship had developed at a time when the prince was "under considerable pressure" which "could make him vulnerable to the misuse of that sort of influence".

The Duke of York "ceased all contact" with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy after receiving advice from the Government, a statement from his office said.

The statement says: "The Duke of York followed advice from HMG and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. 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."