Naming an alleged Chinese spy who has been linked to Prince Andrew is a “matter for the courts”, a government minster has said.
Jim McMahon told Sky News that while he does not know the alleged agent’s identity, he assumes his more senior cabinet colleagues would be aware “depending on their security clearance”.
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The alleged spy, known only as H6, was described in court as having formed an “unusual degree of trust” with the Duke of York and is banned from the UK.
Sky News has seen photos of him with David Cameron and Theresa May when they were Conservative prime ministers – but a court order prevents him from being named.
Asked about the man’s identity, housing minister Mr McMahon said: “I certainly don’t know who it is.”
On whether Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer knows, he said: “I’m assuming that everybody within the cabinet, depending on their security clearance, will know the answer to that question.”
Mr McMahon said naming the individual is “a matter for the courts” and “they will make a judgment on whether the identity should be released or not”.
Parliamentary privilege allows members of parliament to speak freely during parliamentary proceedings without fear of legal action.
Reform UK is threatening to use this mechanism to disclose the Chinese businessman’s identity in the Commons chamber unless the court lifts the anonymity order.
Mr McMahon added: “Whether people choose to use parliamentary privilege is a matter of individual reconciliation. In the end, they need to be able to justify why they’ve done that.”
MPs want more information on the individual, with former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith seeking to ask an Urgent Question in parliament on Monday about the United Front Work Department – the group said to be associated with H6.
The earliest this could take place today, if granted by Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, would be at 3.30pm.
Sir Iain has warned there are “many, many more” like H6 in the UK.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re dealing with the tip of the iceberg.
“The reality is that there are many, many more involved in exactly this kind of espionage that’s taking place. The reality for us is very simple – China is a very clear threat.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Britain has a “complex” relationship with China which requires economic cooperation with the country while also challenging any risk to national security when questioned on the issue on Sunday.
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The alleged agent was first excluded from Britain by then-home secretary Suella Braverman in 2023, when the Home Office said he was believed to have carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for the Chinese Communist Party.
Judges at a specialist tribunal in London on Thursday ruled Ms Braverman had been “entitled to conclude” that he “represented a risk to the national security” after he launched an appeal against the decision.
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H6 was invited to Prince Andrew’s birthday party in 2020, and was told by royal aide Dominic Hampshire he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, a tribunal heard in July this year.
A judge ruled the Chinese businessman had an “unusual” degree of trust from the royal.
On Friday, the duke said he “ceased all contact” with the businessman after concerns were raised by the government.
The Chinese embassy in London has denied H6 is a spy and accused “some people” in the UK of being keen to “make up all kinds of ‘spy’ stories against China…to smear China and sabotage normal people-to-people exchanges between China and the UK”.
