• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News World News

No evidence to back Trump claims Covid-19 originated from Wuhan lab

Donald Trump said he has seen proof that the coronavirus outbreak originated from an infectious disease laboratory in China.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
May 19, 2020
in World News
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

There is no evidence to support a conspiracy theory, backed by Donald Trump, which suggests coronavirus was created in a Chinese laboratory, an expert has said.

The US president claims to have seen proof that Covid-19 originated from an infectious disease laboratory in Wuhan.

At the start of May he speculated that China could have unleashed the virus on the world due to some kind of horrible “mistake”, and even put forward the idea the release was intentional.

However, Professor David Robertson told the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee there was no evidence to back the theory.

He said: “It (the theory) seems unlikely given the emergence of an animal market.

Wildlife market

“You have a virus that you think comes from an exotic species and then you have a wildlife market – that seems the most parsimonious explanation.”

Asked whether a Covid-19 sample found in a Wuhan lab, thought to be about 40 to 50 years old, could have been behind the initial outbreak, the head of viral genomics and bioinformatics at the University of Glasgow added: “No, absolutely not.

RelatedPosts

He looks ten years younger! Dr Anthony Fauci describes ‘liberating feeling’ now Trump has gone

Watch – Reactions as Poet Amanda Gorman delivers inspirational inauguration performance

‘Democracy prevailed’: Joe Biden sworn in as 46th US president

In pictures: Donald Trump goes, Joe Biden arrives

“That’s partly what has driven some of these conspiracy theories, is what is the chance they would have this virus in the labs that is close? And actually, even though it is close in sequence, it is not close in time.”

Prof Robertson added: “There is really no evidence for this. We can all enjoy a conspiracy theory but you need to have evidence.”

The committee also heard that Covid-19 is unpredictably different from what had been discovered.

He said: “I don’t think we’re clever enough to have designed this virus – it’s far too unique.”

John Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, told the committee that wildlife markets where animals are kept “cheek-by-jowl” – such as in the so-called wet markets in China – helped “stack the odds in the favour” of viruses transferring to humans.

Transmitted

He said: “Unusually for this virus, it seems as though it was ready-primed to be able to reasonably and efficiently – in fact, very efficiently – infect humans and be transmitted.

“Wherever you have a large mixture of different wild animals being kept close together alive then there is always the chance that a virus can jump from one to another and acquire some mutations and that those mutations might then enable it to infect humans and then onwardly transmit.

“It is a lottery for the viruses, it is a game of chance, but you do stack the odds in the favour of the virus if you have lots of these wild animals being kept cheek-by-jowl in these kinds of markets.”

Related – Trump talks from the top of his head, says ex-UK scientific adviser

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The other prison pandemic

Credit;PA

Repressionomics: Get ready for the new permanent austerity

Latest from TLE

Vegan doughnuts recipe | Photo by Amelia Hallsworth from Pexels

How To Make: Vegan doughnuts with coffee glaze

Silver Screen Show: Soul

Netflix paid just £3.2m of tax – despite £940m UK subscription revenue

Best reactions as ‘Festival of Brexit’ trends on Twitter

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.