Irish Daily Mirror

World needs to know truth on origins of virus

- HENRY

AS Covid-19 continues to kill thousands around the world, leaving a trail of economic destructio­n in its wake, people are left wondering how in the hell did this all happen? Well, now we might have an answer.

A former head of M16 called Sir Richard Dearlove – no, I’m not making it up, it really is his name – claimed in a Daily Telegraph interview that the virus was man-made and may have escaped from a lab in Wuhan.

More provocativ­ely, he has raised the question that should the Chinese ever admit responsibi­lity, should they pay reparation­s? That would make for some awkward conversati­ons with Chinese ambassador­s.

To be honest, this all leaves me feeling a little queasy but I do fully support the Australian PM’S call for the World Health Organisati­on, with “weapons inspector” powers, to investigat­e the origins of Covid-19. We all need to know the truth.

I have watched as the Chinese have created vast concentrat­ion camps for the Uighur population while making moves to destroy democracy in Hong Kong. Frankly, nothing would surprise me.

Watching events unfold in America fill me with hope and despair. Did the thousands gathering in cities all over the US to remember George Floyd not realise the killer virus stalked the land? Yes, many wore masks but social distancing was virtually non-existent. I just pray that not too many paid the price.

The virus is on the rise in

19 US states as I write.

If that induced despair, the rest brought hope.

That burning wish that the dangerous narcissist­ic buffoon that occupies the

White House is ousted in

November. Misusing the military was a bridge too far. You can see that by the ex-defence Forces chiefs coming out against him.

At last Joe Biden is fired up. He has come out of his bunker in Delaware. However, he lacks charisma and youthful vigour. He needs to choose a vice-president like Kamala Harris, the junior senator from California.

In recent days she has described Trump as an “emperor with no clothes”, “spewing hate and division and chaos”. She is bright and articulate and from a Jamaican and Indian ancestry. She is also, at 56, more than 20 years younger than Biden.

If he were to put her on the ticket now, it would enable him to add some real impetus to his campaign.

It might just convince sufficient numbers of people that you were getting a bit more than Steady Old Joe, and if, God forbid, he should keel over, there was somebody competent to take over.

So, here we are, still with no damn Irish Government. I don’t know about you but my patience is beginning to wear a little thin. It has been blindingly obvious since the election that an FF/FG/GREEN coalition was the only game in town, but we had to endure all that ritual stuff.

Then it was blindingly obvious that agricultur­e and the Green’s demand for a 7% carbon reduction was going to be the problem. So why didn’t they start talking about it right away?

No, they dealt with the “low-hanging fruit” and how many ministers and seats in the Senate and perks each would get. Let’s have an election.

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