'Complex relations with China,' says UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper amid Prince Andrew spy row
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper
British Home SecretaryYvette Cooperadmitted that the UK government has a "complex arrangement" with China because of the need for economic cooperation, amid the exclusion of an alleged Chinese spy with links to Prince Andrew.
The man was banned from Britain by the government on national security grounds and was invited to Andrew's birthday party and visited Buckingham Palace twice.
The man also met David Cameron and Theresa May and kept pictures of his meetings with the two prime ministers on his office desk. However, both said that they do not recall meeting him.
When Cooper was asked about her message to China on BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she said, "Well, we will continue to take a very strong approach to our national security; that includes any challenge to our national security, including to our economic security from China and from other countries around the world. That will always be the approach that we will take. Of course, with China, we also need to make sure we have that economic interaction and economic cooperation in place as well. So it’s a complex arrangement.”
Earlier on Friday, the Duke of York said that he had "ceased all contact" with the businessman when concerns were first raised about him.
Andrew met the individual through "official channels”, with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement from the prince's office read.
The businessman, who is known only as H6, brought his case to the special immigration appeals commission (Siac), which upheld a ruling that he should be excluded from the UK.
Watch |Prince Andrew Says He 'Ceased All Contact' With Alleged Chinese Spy
Meanwhile, shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said that the instances of Chinese interferences that have been proven should be publicly exposed in order to keep the public and government vigilant.
“This question of Chinese influence is not a new one. It’s been around for years, or even decades,” he told the BBC.
“They’ve been systematically trying to infiltrate universities, to steal intellectual property businesses for the same reason, and also influence government institutions. We need to be super-vigilant and publicly expose Chinese infiltration where it happens. Everybody in academia, business, and government needs to be alert. If anyone has the slightest concern, they should contact the security services immediately," he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
