The Chinese laboratory that is suspected to be the source of the coronavirus pandemic was signed off by the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier, that was despite stark warnings from French intelligence services.
Mr Barnier was the French foreign minister when, in 2004, he approved the go-ahead for work to start on the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2004, as part of a joint deal with the Chinese. The move was made in the face of strong opposition from French diplomatic and security advisers, who argued that the Chinese reputation for poor biosecurity could lead to a catastrophic leak.
They also warned that Paris could lose control of the project, and even suggested that Beijing could harness the technology to make biowarfare weapons. Institutions are such as the General Directorate for External Security who are the French equivalent of MI6 expressed concerns relating to international control over Chinese laboratories and issues with transparency.
A source from the General Directorate is quoted in todays Mail on Sunday as saying : “What you have to understand is that a P4 [high-level bio-security] laboratory is like a nuclear reprocessing plant. It’s a bacteriological atomic bomb. The viruses that are tested are extremely dangerous – diving suits, decontamination airlocks etc must be followed to the letter”.
A diplomat who was close to the deal when it occurred has said : “We knew the risks involved and thought that the Chinese would control everything and quickly eject us from the project. We believed that providing this cutting-edge technology to a country with an endless power agenda would risk exposing France in return”.
The Wuhan institute only became operational in January 2018, and when it opened coincided with a visit from current French president Emmanuel Macron. A Foreign Ministry source in France has indeed confirmed that Mr Barnier had helped set up the Wuhan institute when he was foreign minister he was “the hand that signed the paper”.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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