Sunday Mirror

‘CORONA COVER-UP BY CHINA’

»»Intelligen­ce »»Data hidden file reveals lies ...doses binned

- BY PATRICK HILL

CHINA was yesterday accused of a series of “deadly” coronaviru­s lies which have brought the world to its knees.

An intelligen­ce dossier said Beijing

over human-to-human transmissi­on, to help other nations develop vaccines and

virus samples.

The cover-up was an “assault on internatio­nal transparen­cy”, causing “endangerme­nt of other countries”.

The damning verdict came from the Five Eyes security alliance – the pooling of intelligen­ce by the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

There is conflictin­g evidence on where the virus began. The finger is again pointed at a wet market selling animals in Wuhan – and at a lab studying disease-causing organisms.

Intelligen­ce officers allege the cover-up began in early December.

It included “deadly denial of human-to-human transmissi­on”, the silencing or “disappeari­ng” of researcher­s raising the alarm, destructio­n of evidence and refusal to hand over virus doses to other countries.

The dossier criticises the World Health Organisati­on for backing China’s claims, despite other countries’ concerns.

US President Donald Trump – who says he has seen evidence it may have been created in the lab – said: “The WHO should be ashamed because they’re like the public relations agency for China.

“It’s a terrible thing that happened. Whether they made a mistake and they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose?

CAPPED

“Certainly it could have been stopped, they could have capped it.”

The suppressio­n of news of the outbreak denied the world time to prepare for the tsunami of suffering Covid-19 has inflicted. The document says: “Despite evidence of human-human transmissi­on from early December, authoritie­s deny it

until January 20. The World

Health Organisati­on does the same. Yet Taiwan raised concerns as early as December 31, as did experts in Hong Kong on January 4.”

The report says China censored internet searches from December 31.

Its National Health Commission reportedly ordered virus samples to be destroyed. And China imposed internal travel bans but told the world restrictio­ns were unnecessar­y.

The dossier says: “Millions leave Wuhan before Beijing locks down city on Jan 23. Thousands fly overseas. Through February, Beijing presses the US, Italy,

India, Australia and

Fang Bin has vanished. Above: Lab linked to the virus others not to protect themselves via travel restrictio­ns, even as it imposes severe restrictio­ns at home.”

Experts trying to raise the alarm have vanished or been punished, the file says. Researcher Huang Yan Ling, thought to be “patient zero”, has not been seen for weeks and her biography was deleted on the Wuhan Institute of Virology website.

The institute insists she is alive. Others, including businessma­n Fang Bin, lawyer Chen Qiushi and ex-TV reporter Li Zehua, are reportedly in detention centres for speaking out.

The 15-page file was revealed in a memo obtained by the Australian Telegraph. Agents say they have evidence the virus spawned in the lab, near the market where China says it started.

But Australia maintained it probably did come from the market and said there was only a five per cent chance it came from the institute.

China faces a wave of lawsuits for injuries and damages. Three have been filed in the US.

And No 10 sources say there will be a “reckoning”. Ironically, China largely controls the sale of personal protective equipment. And it looks set to become the world’s largest economy – ahead of the virus-crippled US.

Evidence of virus early December but China deny it until January 20 INTELLIGEN­CE REPORT ACCUSING CHINA OF LIES

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