Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, BND, believed there was an 80-90% probability that the coronavirus accidentally leaked from a Chinese laboratory, according to German media reports. The assessment, carried out by the BND in 2020 but never made public, indicates that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was conducting experiments involving virus modification to enhance their transmissibility to humans for research purposes.
In response to earlier claims of a lab leak, China asserted that scientists should determine the cause and pointed to a World Health Organization (WHO) investigation that deemed the lab-leak theory “extremely unlikely.” China opposes any political manipulation regarding the tracing of the Covid-19 origin.
There is currently no consensus on the origin of the Covid pandemic, and the lab-leak hypothesis has been fiercely debated among scientists. While some argue there is insufficient evidence to support the hypothesis, it has gained traction among intelligence agencies. In January, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) stated that the likelihood of the virus leaking from a lab surpassed the possibility of natural transmission.
According to Die Zeit and Sueddeutscher Zeitung, the BND conducted an investigation in Berlin in 2020 as part of an operation called Project Saaremaa to investigate the origin of the coronavirus. The agency considered the lab theory as “likely” but did not possess definitive proof. The BND also uncovered indications of safety regulation breaches at the lab.
The assessment, commissioned by Angela Merkel’s office during her chancellorship, remained undisclosed until now and was shared with the CIA in the fall of 2021. In January, the CIA stated that a “research-related origin” was more plausible than a natural origin, although it expressed low confidence in this evaluation.
Both the BND and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment on the matter. China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning emphasized that tracing the origin of Covid-19 is a scientific issue and cited the findings of the China-WHO joint expert team, which visited relevant labs in Wuhan and concluded that a lab leak was extremely unlikely.
The WHO investigation in early 2021 concluded that the lab-leak theory was “extremely unlikely” following a 12-day mission in Wuhan, including a visit to the laboratory. However, critics have questioned the WHO findings, suggesting that the lab-leak theory was not adequately considered in the WHO report. Proponents of the natural origin hypothesis argue that Covid-19 originated in bats and jumped to humans through another animal, but the lack of a matching virus in bats or another animal has led some to question this theory.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7vypq31z7o
