Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared intelligence with the United Kingdom in January 2021 suggesting a “high likelihood” that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a lab in China, according to The Telegraph. The information was reportedly shared during a meeting of the intelligence alliance known as “Five Eyes,” which includes the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Pompeo shared classified American reports with then-U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and representatives from the other countries, but the lab leak theory was allegedly ignored by the U.K. government due to pressure from government scientists favoring the theory of zoonotic transmission.
Two former Trump administration officials who worked on the intelligence in Pompeo’s report expressed shock at the information provided, which they believed pointed to a high likelihood that the virus originated from a Chinese lab. Reports shared with the U.K. by the Five Eyes alliance between October and December 2020 also accused Chinese officials of stonewalling and gross corruption, while revealing that the Chinese military had been collaborating with the Wuhan Institute of Virology for years. Furthermore, lab researchers at the institute reportedly fell ill before COVID-19 was officially reported in the region.
In response to these revelations, the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic called for a criminal probe into the origins of the virus. The interim staff report accused EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak of funding risky gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China without sufficient oversight. EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S.-based NGO focused on pandemic prevention, refuted these claims. It was reported that EcoHealth Alliance received NIH grants, and U.S. taxpayer funds were used to support Chinese entities conducting coronavirus research through the organization.
The demands for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 come amid growing concerns about the possibility of a lab leak in China. The information shared by Pompeo with the U.K. suggests that the outbreak may have started at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with lab researchers falling ill before the virus was officially reported. However, the U.K. government, along with other Five Eyes alliance members, reportedly ignored the lab leak theory in favor of the zoonotic transmission theory, which suggests the virus originated from animals.
The alleged pressure from government scientists on the U.K. government to dismiss the lab leak theory raises questions about the true origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Five Eyes alliance reports shared by Pompeo with the U.K. point to the Chinese military’s involvement with the Wuhan Institute of Virology and accusations of corruption and ineptitude by Chinese officials. The calls for a criminal probe into the virus’s origins reflect the growing skepticism and scrutiny surrounding the initial outbreak and the need for transparency and accountability in understanding how the pandemic began.
