Explosive dossier says China lied about lab’s virus role

INTERNATIONAL pressure was building on Beijing last night following the leak of a bombshell intelligence dossier which accuses China of having lied about the origins of Covid-19 – and cites evidence that the virus was passed to humans via the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The dossier also says China persecuted whistleblowers as part of the cover-up.

The classified document, from the

Five Eyes security alliance of the US,

UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, risks shattering the fragile consensus which has held among the nations – with the exception of US President Donald Trump – to avoid direct accusations against the Chinese government over the pandemic.

It comes 48 hours after President Trump announced that he had seen intelligence which gave him a ‘high degree of confidence’ that the global crisis had its origins in the laboratory.

The dossier makes scathing criticism of the alleged cover-ups mounted by the Chinese since the outbreak.

Trump’s Five Eyes allies have been reluctant to join in with his criticisms of Beijing, particularly when China is providing vital protective equipment.

Addressing the possibility that the virus had leaked from the Wuhan Institute, the report cites several studies led by scientist Dr Shi Zhengli as concerns.

It highlights the fact that Dr Zhengli – dubbed Bat Woman – and her team have conducted research in the lab into deadly bat-derived coronaviruses – with at least one of the virus samples being a 96% genetic match for Covid-19.

Last night, Xiong Jun, from the Chinese Embassy in London, said: ‘It is the established general opinion of [the WHO], and scientists and professionals in the vast majority of countries including the US that there is no evidence showing the virus came from a lab.’

EXPOSURE: The Wuhan scientists wear little in the way of personal protective equipment as they take samples from the bats before releasing them

POOR PROTECTION: Pictures from the institute’s website, since deleted, of Wuhan researchers catching bats in the wild and in the caves where Covid-19 began

WORRYING: A shocking photograph, uncovered by the MoS, showing the poor seal, inset, on the door of a Wuhan Institute fridge storing 1,500 virus strains, including the bat coronavirus behind the pandemic

FEARS: Researchers including Shi Zhengli at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, from where it’s claimed the virus may have spread