Prince Andrew wrote birthday letters each year to Xi Jinping, ex-adviser told court

The Duke of York sent letters directly to China's president, Xi Jinping, the prince's former senior adviser has told a special immigration tribunal, with an alleged Chinese spy advising him on how to write them.

- Caroline Davies

Dominic Hampshire, who worked for Andrew from 2019-22, said the duke had "always had a communication channel" with Xi which was "accepted" and may even have been encouraged by Buckingham Palace and the late queen.

Yang Tengbo - also known as Chris Yang - who has previously said he had "done nothing wrong or unlawful", was excluded from the UK on national security grounds in March 2023 by the then home secretary, Suella Braverman.

He unsuccessfully challenged the decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) last year, with judges finding the businessman was a "close confidant" of Andrew and had "won a significant degree, one could say an unusual degree, of trust" from the duke.

Documents in the legal challenge, including Hampshire's witness statement, were made public yesterday after a request from several media organisations.

According to Hampshire's statement, Andrew sent a letter each year on the Chinese president's birthday. "The royal household, including the late queen, were fully aware of this communication - it was certainly accepted and it may be fair to say it was even encouraged - it was an open channel of communication that was useful to have."

He added: "As is my job, I would draft these letters with the help of those (in this instance Chris) that understood how messages need to be conveyed due to cultural differences."