Michael Ejercito
2024-05-05 14:56:02 UTC
https://www.reddit.com/r/LockdownSkepticism/comments/1ckmg1a/us_shared_gobsmacking_covid_lab_leak_file_with_uk/
US shared ‘gobsmacking’ Covid lab leak file with UK
Tony Diver
Sat, May 4, 2024 at 12:00 PM PDT·5 min read
71
Security personnel gather near the entrance of the Wuhan Institute of
Virology during a visit by the World Health Organization team
Security personnel gather near the entrance of the Wuhan Institute of
Virology during a visit by the World Health Organization team - NG HAN
GUAN/AP
The US shared “gobsmacking” evidence with Britain at the height of the
Covid pandemic suggesting a “high likelihood” that the virus had leaked
from a Chinese lab, The Telegraph can reveal.
In January 2021, Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations were convened to
discuss the possibility of a lab leak as the US warned that China had
covered up research on coronaviruses and military activity at a
laboratory in Wuhan.
In a previously unreported phone call that month, Mike Pompeo, the
former US secretary of state, presented evidence that supported the lab
leak theory to Dominic Raab, then the Foreign Secretary, and
representatives from Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Speaking to The Telegraph, two Trump administration officials accused Mr
Raab and the UK Government of ignoring the lab leak theory because of
resistance from government scientists who supported the explanation that
the virus had jumped between animals and humans.
Mr Pompeo presented a summary of classified American intelligence
reports collected in the early days of the pandemic and compiled by the
State Department. The intelligence reports themselves are understood to
have been shared separately with the UK via the Five Eyes network
between October and December 2020.
“We saw several pieces of information and thought that they were,
frankly, gobsmacking,” said one former official who worked on the
intelligence that informed Mr Pompeo’s report. “They obviously pointed
to the high likelihood that this was indeed a lab leak.”
Dominic Raab and Mike Pompeo, the then US secretary of state, in 2020
Dominic Raab and Mike Pompeo, the then US secretary of state, in 2020 -
Kirsty O'Connor/PA Archive
In one document, which has since been released by the State Department
under Freedom of Information laws, US officials warned of “consistent
stonewalling” by China after the virus was first discovered and accused
local officials of “gross corruption and ineptitude”.
The research revealed for the first time that Chinese military officials
had worked with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the years leading up
to the pandemic, and that some researchers at the lab had become ill
shortly before the virus was first recorded nearby.
It also showed that Chinese scientists had carried out “gain of
function” research at the institute, which has since become a key piece
of evidence for the lab leak theory.
The theory has become a divisive topic among scientists and government
officials in the years following the pandemic and has prompted two
investigations by the World Health Organisation, which China has been
accused of obstructing.
British government ministers including Boris Johnson initially dismissed
the possibility that Covid had been created by scientists, arguing in
June 2021 that “the advice that we have had is that it doesn’t look as
though this particular disease of zoonotic origin came from a lab”.
Two former officials claimed the UK had ignored the evidence presented
by the US because ministers saw the lab leak claims as a “radioactive
American political issue” fuelled by public disagreement between
government scientists and Donald Trump.
“Once the thing became fundamentally political, the ability to pursue it
internationally really just collapsed because no one else was interested
in touching it,” said one of the officials. “I think [Five Eyes] were
kind of annoyed by the way the issue had become treated in US politics.”
Both separately named Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the Government’s
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies as one of the leading
opponents of the lab leak theory within the British government.
A majority of scientific experts have long said that they believe an
animal to human interaction was the most likely cause of the first
infection.
However, some Government figures, including Michael Gove, have since
said that they believe the virus was “man-made”.
In November, Mr Gove told the Covid Inquiry that there was a
“significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was
man-made – and that presents its own set of challenges”.
Both the FBI and US Department of Energy have said they believe a lab
leak is the most likely cause of Covid, while other agencies have said
they think it occurred naturally.
Joe Biden, the US president, has said he does not know where the virus
started, while the US National Intelligence Council said last year it
“probably emerged and infected humans through an initial small-scale
exposure”.
UK ministers are now facing calls to expand the terms of the Covid
Inquiry to include an investigation into the origin of the virus.
The Telegraph understands that the call in Jan 2021 was deliberately
held on an “open line” without security encryption in the hope that
Chinese intelligence agencies would hear that Western countries were
aware of military activity in Wuhan.
“We did that deliberately…we wanted to put pressure on the bad guys,”
said a State Department source.
Ten days after the call, in which officials said the UK was unwilling to
assist with a US-led lab leak investigation or share its own research,
the summary compiled by Mr Pompeo’s officials was released to the public
in a “fact sheet”.
Those involved in the release said they took care to avoid revealing the
sources or methods of US spy agencies, and that it was just the “tip of
the iceberg” of the underlying intelligence that had been gathered.
A UK government spokesman said: “There are still questions that need to
be answered about the origin and spread of Covid-19, not least so we can
ensure we are better prepared for future pandemics.
“The UK continues to support the World Health Organisation in its expert
study of the origins of Covid-19. It is important that China and other
countries cooperate fully with the researchers.”
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The
Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning
website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
US shared ‘gobsmacking’ Covid lab leak file with UK
Tony Diver
Sat, May 4, 2024 at 12:00 PM PDT·5 min read
71
Security personnel gather near the entrance of the Wuhan Institute of
Virology during a visit by the World Health Organization team
Security personnel gather near the entrance of the Wuhan Institute of
Virology during a visit by the World Health Organization team - NG HAN
GUAN/AP
The US shared “gobsmacking” evidence with Britain at the height of the
Covid pandemic suggesting a “high likelihood” that the virus had leaked
from a Chinese lab, The Telegraph can reveal.
In January 2021, Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations were convened to
discuss the possibility of a lab leak as the US warned that China had
covered up research on coronaviruses and military activity at a
laboratory in Wuhan.
In a previously unreported phone call that month, Mike Pompeo, the
former US secretary of state, presented evidence that supported the lab
leak theory to Dominic Raab, then the Foreign Secretary, and
representatives from Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Speaking to The Telegraph, two Trump administration officials accused Mr
Raab and the UK Government of ignoring the lab leak theory because of
resistance from government scientists who supported the explanation that
the virus had jumped between animals and humans.
Mr Pompeo presented a summary of classified American intelligence
reports collected in the early days of the pandemic and compiled by the
State Department. The intelligence reports themselves are understood to
have been shared separately with the UK via the Five Eyes network
between October and December 2020.
“We saw several pieces of information and thought that they were,
frankly, gobsmacking,” said one former official who worked on the
intelligence that informed Mr Pompeo’s report. “They obviously pointed
to the high likelihood that this was indeed a lab leak.”
Dominic Raab and Mike Pompeo, the then US secretary of state, in 2020
Dominic Raab and Mike Pompeo, the then US secretary of state, in 2020 -
Kirsty O'Connor/PA Archive
In one document, which has since been released by the State Department
under Freedom of Information laws, US officials warned of “consistent
stonewalling” by China after the virus was first discovered and accused
local officials of “gross corruption and ineptitude”.
The research revealed for the first time that Chinese military officials
had worked with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the years leading up
to the pandemic, and that some researchers at the lab had become ill
shortly before the virus was first recorded nearby.
It also showed that Chinese scientists had carried out “gain of
function” research at the institute, which has since become a key piece
of evidence for the lab leak theory.
The theory has become a divisive topic among scientists and government
officials in the years following the pandemic and has prompted two
investigations by the World Health Organisation, which China has been
accused of obstructing.
British government ministers including Boris Johnson initially dismissed
the possibility that Covid had been created by scientists, arguing in
June 2021 that “the advice that we have had is that it doesn’t look as
though this particular disease of zoonotic origin came from a lab”.
Two former officials claimed the UK had ignored the evidence presented
by the US because ministers saw the lab leak claims as a “radioactive
American political issue” fuelled by public disagreement between
government scientists and Donald Trump.
“Once the thing became fundamentally political, the ability to pursue it
internationally really just collapsed because no one else was interested
in touching it,” said one of the officials. “I think [Five Eyes] were
kind of annoyed by the way the issue had become treated in US politics.”
Both separately named Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the Government’s
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies as one of the leading
opponents of the lab leak theory within the British government.
A majority of scientific experts have long said that they believe an
animal to human interaction was the most likely cause of the first
infection.
However, some Government figures, including Michael Gove, have since
said that they believe the virus was “man-made”.
In November, Mr Gove told the Covid Inquiry that there was a
“significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was
man-made – and that presents its own set of challenges”.
Both the FBI and US Department of Energy have said they believe a lab
leak is the most likely cause of Covid, while other agencies have said
they think it occurred naturally.
Joe Biden, the US president, has said he does not know where the virus
started, while the US National Intelligence Council said last year it
“probably emerged and infected humans through an initial small-scale
exposure”.
UK ministers are now facing calls to expand the terms of the Covid
Inquiry to include an investigation into the origin of the virus.
The Telegraph understands that the call in Jan 2021 was deliberately
held on an “open line” without security encryption in the hope that
Chinese intelligence agencies would hear that Western countries were
aware of military activity in Wuhan.
“We did that deliberately…we wanted to put pressure on the bad guys,”
said a State Department source.
Ten days after the call, in which officials said the UK was unwilling to
assist with a US-led lab leak investigation or share its own research,
the summary compiled by Mr Pompeo’s officials was released to the public
in a “fact sheet”.
Those involved in the release said they took care to avoid revealing the
sources or methods of US spy agencies, and that it was just the “tip of
the iceberg” of the underlying intelligence that had been gathered.
A UK government spokesman said: “There are still questions that need to
be answered about the origin and spread of Covid-19, not least so we can
ensure we are better prepared for future pandemics.
“The UK continues to support the World Health Organisation in its expert
study of the origins of Covid-19. It is important that China and other
countries cooperate fully with the researchers.”
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The
Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning
website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.