© Héctor Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
The P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology; ‘P4’ indicates that it is cleared to handle dangerous Class 4 pathogens.
The P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology; ‘P4’ indicates that it is cleared to handle dangerous Class 4 pathogens.
There is no current evidence to suggest that coronavirus leaked from a Chinese research laboratory, intelligence sources have told the Guardian, contradicting recent White House claims that there is growing proof this is how the pandemic began.
The sources also insisted that a "15-page dossier" highlighted by the Australian Daily Telegraph which accused China of a deadly cover up was not culled from intelligence from the Five Eyes network, an alliance between the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
British and other Five Eyes agencies do believe that Beijing has not necessarily been open about how coronavirus initially spread in Wuhan at the turn of the year. But they are nervous about getting involved in an escalating international situation.
Comment: The Five Eyes group seems to be engaged in a little back-handed truth-telling. While not admitting the virus likely was engineered at Fort Detrick and brought to Wuhan by soldiers from that base, they are still taking some heat off the Wuhan lab. What the deeper game is, is still unclear for now.