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King's former school ends deal with spy row firm

BBC Yang Tengbo smiles at the camera, wearing glasses and a blue suit jacket. BBC
Yango Tengbo said he had "done nothing wrong or unlawful"

The King's former school has cut ties with a business whose chairman has been accused of spying for the Chinese government.

Gordonstoun, in Moray, has called off an agreement with Hampton Group International after its chairman and shareholder Yang Tengbo was named as the Chinese spy known by the alias "H6".

The deal between the school and Hampton would have led to the opening of five new schools in China, all with close links to Gordonstoun.

On Monday, Mr Yang and his legal team decided to make his identity public, though he has strongly denied the spying accusations.

Mr Yang is a close associate of the Duke of York and a High Court judge ruled they had formed an "unusual degree of trust".

Getty Images An old three-storey school building with turrets with a grass lawnGetty Images
Members of the Royal Family have been educated at the Moray private school

Prince Andrew was a student at Gordonstoun from 1973-1979 but now has no ties to the school.

Last week he said he had "ceased all contact" with Mr Yang after receiving advice from the government and his office said there was "nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed" between them.

A spokesperson for the school said: "Gordonstoun has been made aware that Yang Tengbo, the chairman of the Hampton Group, has been named as the alleged Chinese spy known as 'H6'.

"Following this information, Gordonstoun terminated its contract with the Hampton Group. For legal reasons, we are unable to provide further details at this time."

Gordonstoun stands in 200 acres (81 hectares) of grounds on the Moray coast, a few miles west of Lossiemouth.

The school was set up in 1934 by the German educator Kurt Hahn, who was forced to leave his own country after criticising Hitler.

Prince Philip was one of the first pupils there and retained a close link to the school for the rest of his life.

His three sons - King Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward - were sent there, as were Princess Anne's children, Peter and Zara Phillips.

In letters from his school years, the King wrote that he struggled at Gordonstoun, though he has since spoken of its benefits.

He was made a patron of the school in May.

PA Media King Charles III smiles at a Christmas event at Highgrove Gardens. He has white hair and wears a dark grey suit with a pink tie and Christmas lights can be seen in the backgroundPA Media
The King is a patron of the Moray school

Mr Yang - who is also known as Chris Yang - has been banned from the UK since last year.

He challenged his ban on entering the UK at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in July, but lost his appeal last week.

He has insisted he has "done nothing wrong or unlawful", and said it is "entirely untrue" to claim he was involved in espionage.

Mr Yang claimed he was a victim of a "political climate" which had seen a rise in tensions between the UK and China.

In a statement after a High Court judge lifted an order granting him anonymity, he said: "Due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity.

"I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded. The widespread description of me as a 'spy' is entirely untrue."

China's embassy in the UK previously denied the espionage claim saying "some individuals in the UK are always eager to fabricate baseless 'spy' stories targeting China".

"Their purpose is to smear China and disrupt normal exchanges between Chinese and British personnel," a spokesperson for the embassy said.