‘WEAPON ESCAPED FROM LAB’
Intelligence expert says it’s ‘highly probable’ Covid came from virology centre
SINISTER links tracing the Covid-19 pandemic to a secretive Chinese biological lab emerged even before the UK went into lockdown, it has emerged.
Senior military and intelligence expert Col Richard Kemp was told as far back as March of a “high probability” it came from a warfare facility.
He learned about the Wuhan connection from a senior foreign intelligence source, who claimed analysts “strongly suspected” the source of the disease was China’s virology unit.
If the virus was harnessed from animals and then re-engineered, it may have been earmarked as a biological weapon or been part of research in case of a natural outbreak.
Kemp, a former UK Government adviser whose responsibilities included bio-terrorism, says his intelligence source told him of growing evidence of a cover-up by China.
His unnamed source even said there was a “very high probability” the virus was released unintentionally from the Wuhan lab, in Hubei Province, and was a “man-made variation.”
The former commander of British forces in Afghanistan said: “I was told then, by a very credible source, that this was ‘highly probable’.
“As with most things in the intelligence world you can rarely say it is absolutely the case but the term ‘highly probable’ means it is very likely to be the case.
“I was also led to believe governments were very unlikely to come out and say it outright, but that China had been made aware that intelligence agencies had significant evidence.
“The high probability, I was told, is that the virus came from an animal that had been involved in testing in the Wuhan Institute of Virology and had ended up in the wet market. “It was believed then and now that the carcass was infected with coronavirus and that an unscrupulous member of staff sold it for personal profit without considering it may be infected. That is how it got out.
“I have known the source for many years and come to trust this person as serious and not given to false claims. In intelligence terms it means we have to take it very seriously as it means it is known to be true but cannot be backed up by absolute evidence.”
The Wuhan Institute of Virology was built in the wake of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome – Sars – epidemic which hit China in 2002.
It is home to China’s only lab with a P4 biosafety rating, a worldrecognised measure that says it can study the most lethal pathogens.
It is eight miles from Wuhan’s wet market and had come under scrutiny from the US State Department, which in 2014 reported safety flaws.
The market has long been thought
to be the source of the virus, with it jumping from an animal. But Kemp’s confirmation of growing fears of a link between Covid-19 and the virology lab backs near-identical claims made by former MI6 chief, Sir Richard Dearlove.
Sir Richard yesterday said he too believes it initially came from a lab and that he had seen reports claiming it was engineered by Chinese scientists.
Experts widely agree the virus originated in animals and have refuted claims it was man-made. But Sir Richard said a Norwegian-British team found parts of its genetic sequence may not have evolved naturally, with “inserted sections on the spike surface”.
He says scientists may have been experimenting on bat viruses when Covid-19 escaped “as an accident”.
Further research to be released in the coming days, reportedly claims the virus has “unique fingerprints” indicating “purposive manipulation”.
Sir Richard added: “As this debate about the virus develops, I think all this material is going to embarrass a number of people.”
Last month, Prof David Robertson of Glasgow University told the House of Lords science and technology committee there was “no evidence” the virus is man-made.
“I don’t think we’re clever enough to have designed this,” he said.
And Boris Johnson’s spokesman said yesterday: “We’ve seen no evidence the virus is man-made.”
But he would not rule out the idea it came from a lab accidentally, adding: “There will need to be an inquiry to establish how this virus spread.”
The high probability, I was told, is the virus came from animals at the lab RICHARD KEMP ON HOW THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC STARTED