Prince Andrew demanded a face-to-face meeting with MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum following the spy scandal, it has emerged.
The Duke of York sought the unusual meeting to learn more about security concerns surrounding Yang Tengbo, his close confidant.
Yang, who denies being a spy, was banned from the UK after an MI5 investigation.
The meeting was agreed to by Sir Ken and scheduled for June last year.
Prince Andrew demanded a face-to-face meeting with MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum following the spy scandal, it has emerged.
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However, Sir Ken cancelled the meeting at the last minute after Rishi Sunak called a surprise general election.
The MI5 chief is understood to have withdrawn from the appointment as the election required his full attention.
The meeting was never rearranged, and the two men did not meet.
Any such meeting would have been highly unusual given that Yang, a friend and business partner of the Duke, was under investigation by the domestic intelligence service.
The Duke reportedly held the highest security clearance despite stepping back as a working royal.
The Duke reportedly held the highest security clearance despite stepping back as a working royal.
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Yang was a close associate of Prince Andrew, described in court documents as being “at the top of the tree” among the Duke’s “closest internal confidants”.
The Chinese businessman was first detained at a British airport in late 2021, where he surrendered his mobile phone and other devices.
In March 2023, then Home Secretary Suella Braverman barred Yang from re-entering the UK.
Yang appealed this decision, but his appeal was rejected by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
Details of the case were only made public at the end of last year.
The Telegraph can also reveal that Sir Ken held a briefing with Sir Edward Young, the late Queen’s private secretary, at the height of the investigation into Yang.
The Duke reportedly felt he was being kept in the dark about MI5’s concerns regarding his associate.
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This meeting took place at Buckingham Palace in December 2021.
During this briefing, Sir Ken outlined MI5’s concerns over Prince Andrew’s growing friendship with Yang.
Messages found on Yang’s devices revealed he had been invited to the Duke’s 60th birthday party.
Prince Andrew’s request for a meeting with Sir Ken came more than two years after Yang was first detained and just over a year after he was barred from the UK.
It is understood Prince Andrew was never formally advised by the security services or Buckingham Palace to sever contact with Yang.
The Duke reportedly felt he was being kept in the dark about MI5’s concerns regarding his associate.
According to court documents, the Duke eventually distanced himself from Yang on the advice of Dominic Hampshire, his then-senior adviser.
