Former MI6 chief has said he believes that Covid-19 accidentally escaped from a Chinese lab

Sir Richard Dearlove claims that he has seen a scientific report that shows coronavirus was created by Chinese scientists.
Former MI6 chief has said he believes that Covid-19 accidentally escaped from a Chinese labFormer MI6 chief has said he believes that Covid-19 accidentally escaped from a Chinese lab
Former MI6 chief has said he believes that Covid-19 accidentally escaped from a Chinese lab

A former MI6 chief has said he believes the origins of the coronavirus pandemic can be traced to the virus accidentally escaping from a Chinese laboratory.

Speaking on The Daily Telegraph's Planet Normal podcast, Sir Richard Dearlove, who spent 38 years with Britain's intelligence service, said he had seen a new scientific report that suggested the virus was engineered by Chinese scientists.

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Experts widely agree that the virus originated in animals before being transmitted to humans.

Professor David Robertson from the University of Glasgow told the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee last month that there was "really no evidence" of the virus being man-made.

"I don't think we're clever enough to have designed this virus - it's far too unique," he said.

"There is really no evidence for this. We can all enjoy a conspiracy theory but you need to have evidence."

However Sir Richard said a scientific paper published this week by a Norwegian-British research team suggested key elements in the genetic sequence of the virus were "inserted" and may not have evolved naturally.

The Daily Telegraph reported that in the study, produced by Professor Angus Dalgleish of St George's Hospital at the University of London and Norwegian virologist Birger Sorensen, the scientists claim to have found "inserted sections placed on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike surface" which could explain how the virus binds with human cells.

In the podcast, Sir Richard suggested scientists may have been experimenting on bat coronaviruses when Covid-19 escaped.

He also raised the prospect of China potentially paying for the global damage caused by the pandemic.

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"I do think that this started as an accident," Sir Richard said.

"(The study is) a very important contribution to a debate which is now starting about how the virus evolved and how it got out and broke out as a pandemic.

"It raises the issue, if China ever were to admit responsibility, does it pay reparations?"

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