Keir Starmer faces growing pressure to toughen Labour's stance on China - following scandal of the alleged spy who befriended Prince Andrew By GLEN KEOGH and GEORGE ODLING and MARTIN BECKFORD Published: 17:32 EST, 16 December 2024 | Updated: 17:54 EST, 16 December 2024 e-mail 6 View comments Keir Starmer has defended fostering closer ties with China – despite being told Beijing has ‘thousands’ of agents who could emulate the alleged spy who befriended Prince Andrew. The Prime Minister admitted he was ‘concerned about the challenge’ posed by China but doubled down on his policy of ‘engagement’ and ‘co-operating’ with the state. It came as businessman and former York University student Yang Tengbo was unmasked as an alleged spy who wove a web of influence through the British establishment.
His identity was revealed after the lifting of a court order yesterday – allowing the extent of his activities to be reported for the first time. The development renewed calls on the Prime Minister – who last month met China’s president Xi Jinping in the first face-to-face talks between British and Chinese leaders in six years – to take a harder line. Yang, 50 – who also used the Anglicised name Christopher Yang – has been photographed alongside former prime ministers Theresa May and David Cameron and former chancellor George Osborne .
The businessman, described as a ‘close confidant’ of Andrew who was invited to his 60th birthday party, also went into busine.