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The Duke of York planned to create a royal institute to develop closer ties with Beijing, an alleged Chinese spy has claimed.

Prince Andrew has faced intense scrutiny over his links with Yang Tengbo, who has been banned from returning to the UK because their relationship is considered a risk to national security.

Yang denies being a Chinese agent and made an unsuccessful application to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission to overturn the ban.

Andrew’s alleged plans to develop a relationship with the Communist regime were revealed in a statement by Yang to the commission last year, which was made public on Thursday.

“I believe the St James’ Palace Institute was an idea first brought up by the Duke of York in either late 2018 or early 2019, in a meeting I attended with him, Amanda Thirsk [then Andrew’s private secretary] and probably other members of his team,” he said.

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Documents released by the immigration tribunal reveal that Zheng Zeguang, China’s ambassador to the UK, regarded Andrew as a “valuable communication channel”.

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A briefing found on Yang’s mobile telephone showed the embassy was told Andrew would help raise $3 billion of international financing by using the royal family’s international reputation.

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