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There is no current evidence to suggest that the coronavirus leaked from a Chinese research laboratory, intelligence sources told The Guardian, contradicting recent White House claims that there is mounting evidence that this is how the pandemic started.
Sources also insisted that a “15-page dossier” highlighted by the Australian Daily Telegraph that accused China of a deadly cover-up was not taken from intelligence by the Five Eyes network, an alliance between the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia , New Zealand and Canada.
British agencies and other Five Eyes agencies believe that Beijing has not necessarily been open about how the coronavirus initially spread in Wuhan earlier this year. But they are nervous about getting involved in a growing international situation.
On Sunday, Mike Pompeo, United States Secretary of State, said: “I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan.”
Pompeo did not offer any evidence to back up his claim, but the information has been circulating for the past month in the UK, USA. USA And Australia with the goal of raising questions about the Wuhan High-Security Virology Institute, which has long specialized in researching coronavirus in horseshoe bats.
Stories have suggested that lab workers may not always have worn full protective gear, and that in one case a bat urinated on an investigator who did not subsequently become ill.
But there is nothing to indicate that a laboratory leak could have caused the pandemic, sources say.
The virus is even claimed to have been genetically engineered in Wuhan, although there is agreement from the scientific and intelligence agency that there is no evidence for this.
American scientists who have worked with the Wuhan Institute Add that its safety standards are comparable to Western equivalents, and the prevailing theory is that the virus was transmitted to humans through one of the country’s live animal markets.
Australia’s Daily Telegraph, a Sydney tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch, has focused on the Wuhan lab for several days, culminating in a weekend report citing a compiled 15-page dossier, it said, by “Western governments concerned “amid an investigation by the British and other members of the Five Eyes intelligence agencies.
Intelligence sources in Australia were quick to say they believed it was based on open source and public domain material. One told The Guardian that he believed the information in the News Corp title probably came originally from the United States: “My instinct is that it was a tool to build a counter-narrative and apply pressure to China.” So the most important thing is the intention behind this. Therefore, possibly open source leads with an included rating. ”
Downing Street said the UK did not comment on intelligence matters, although British sources also said they did not recognize the record based on classified information provided by the country’s spy agencies.
Downing Street said it would not comment on intelligence matters, but a spokesman for No. 10 said: “Clearly, there are questions that need to be answered about the origin and spread of the virus, especially so that we can ensure that we are better prepared for the world future. ” pandemics. “
Neil O’Brien, a conservative deputy and secretary of the China Research Group, said Beijing could help defend against speculation with more transparency: “If his government were less reserved and authoritarian, they would cooperate more and therefore could to put to bed more wild ideas on the origins of the virus “.
Last week, the New York Times reported that White House officials, led by Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger, a former China reporter in the Wall Street Journal, pressured U.S. agencies to collect information that they could support. any laboratory theory.
A report in the Washington Post, two weeks later, highlighted a leak in US diplomatic cables. USA Since 2018, claiming that a site visit showed that the WIV did not have enough properly trained technicians for high security work.
The lab itself says it is distressed to talk about leaks. Scientific American republished an interview with virologist Shi Zhengli last week to address “the tenuous suggestion” of the laboratory theory, noting that the “genetic sequence” of Sars-CoV-2, the academic term for coronavirus, “does not match “Anyone in his lab had previously studied.”
Charles Parton, a former foreign affairs official and senior associate member of the Royal United Services Institute, said: “People who push these kinds of lines are hurting everyone.
“It will inevitably prevent a Chinese reaction at a time when a proper scientific understanding of its causes is needed and, in the long term, work together to prevent pandemics from reoccurring.”
