HAMPTON HILL’S LINKS TO THE ALLEGED CHINESE SPY SCANDAL
A discarded pile of the disgraced Duke of York’s Pitch@Palace brochures and books was left behind by the alleged Chinese spy Chris Yang at a Hampton Hill address linked to his company, The Hampton Group Internatonal, Teddington Town can reveal today.
A large number of glossy hard back books entitled Pitch@Palace China 1.0 and smaller soft back books were left behind at the two-bedroomed two-bathroomed property in Windmill Road, Hampton Hill.
The red-brick former Free Library has a stylish plaque alongside the front door which says Hampton Group – the name of Yang’s company in the UK.
The new owner, who asked not to be named, only moved in on December 6 – two days after the alleged spy was barred from entering the UK by immigration authorities.
He said: “This pile of books was just left behind in the house. It didn’t mean anything to me until I saw the news.
“They were just left behind and we put them out for the rubbish but they refused to take them so it’s all sitting outside, waiting to be dumped.”
The property had been on the market for £949.950 with local estate agents, Snellers.
It was described as: “an amazing opportunity to own a piece of history dating back to 1906, having undergone a wonderful transformation. Although only two bedrooms, this detached house offers over 1,500 sq.ft which includes the spacious mezzanine room.
“Situated just moments from Hampton Hill High Street and Royal Bushy Park, this house couldn’t be better located to enjoy everything Hampton has to offer.”
Today, the green bins and plastic bags were full of the unwanted books.
The Chinese spy at the centre of the involving Prince Andrew scandal has intriguing and significant local links with Hampton Hill, Teddington Town can exclusively reveal.
The spy, whose real name has been revealed as Yang Tengbo, aged 50 or Teng Bo Yang in official documents operated his lobbying company Hampton International Group from various addresses in Hampton Hill.
The company is linked to Wellington House in Hampton Hill High Street, the former Free Library in Windmill Road as well property in nearby Broad Lane.
Official company records on government websites name two officials of the company as Jean Jameson aged 60 Andrew Methven aged 46 who both have LinkedIn profiles.
In the case of Mr Methven his profile describes his role as “Helping Mandarin learners communicate with confidence and stay on top of the latest language trends in China.
He says: “I first travelled to China in 2002, taking the train from London. A year later I was still in China. I travelled across the country several times, hitch-hiking from Gansu to Hainan, and then in the wildernesses of Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan.
“I started learning Chinese along the way, and (wrongly) felt like I got pretty good pretty quickly! So I got a job teaching English in Taiwan, and over the following 3-years I lived and worked there to learn Mandarin.
“When back in London, I took a Masters in Chinese linguistics and translation at SOAS. After that I worked for two decades as an interpreter, advisor, and problem solver for Chinese investors entering the UK, and British companies entering the China market.
Mr Methven, aged 46, was described as ‘general manager’ for Hampton International Group with a correspondence address at Wellington House, Hampton Hill, He joined the company on April 30 2013 and resigned on 1 July 2013.
“In 2021 I started publishing the RealTime Mandarin newsletter and podcast, helping seasoned Chinese language learners communicate with confidence and keep their language skills up to date. It’s grown into a multimedia online education platform and a global community of over 11,000 Mandarin learners and China watchers in over 100 countries.”
In publicly available records Jean Jameson’s correspondence addressed is given as Library Mews, 13, Windmill Road, Hampton. The records
There is no suggestion that either Jean Jameson or Andrew Methven have behaved inappropriately or illegally.
In a report commissioned by The Leadership Council Jean Jameson is described as the CEO of the Hampton Group and has a lengthy biography in the report.
In the report called Reaching Out to China by The Leadership Council, Jean Jameson is described as the CEO of the Hampton Group. She was one of 13 ‘leaders’ who was interviewed as part of the report.
This is what her biography said:
Jean has over 28 years of experience in business engagement between the UK and China. Since joining Hampton Group in 2012, Jean has been a core member of the management team driving the transformation of the organisation into a leading strategic consultancy and investment business specialising in UK-China cross border transactions.
Jean has led some of Hampton Group’s largest international projects including the Chinese Olympic Committee’s ‘China House’ at Olympic Games in London, Sochi, and Rio, and the UK-China Business Leaders Summits in 2014 and 2016. Recently she has been instrumental in the success of the Duke of York’s Pitch@Palace initiative in China.
Prior to joining Hampton Group, Jean was responsible for the Secretariat of the 48 Group Club – the first ever foreign business organisation to support the new China since 1954.
She wrote: “Since I moved to the UK from Shanghai in 1990, I’ve witnessed changing attitudes in the British business community towards China and the Chinese. In the early 90s, few people had been to China, they were very few Chinese working in the UK, and very limited information about China in mainstream British media.
“I had a mixed reception when I started work at a manufacturing firm. Some colleagues, very politely, asked me if my family had a TV or a fridge. Others were less kind, calling me a country bumpkin because they believed China was a backwards third world country.
“They had no idea that Shanghai was – and is – a thriving international metropolis. Since China opened up to the world 40 years ago, there is better understanding on both sides.”
Teddington Town has tried to contact Mr Yang, Jean Jameson and Andrew Methven.