Donald Trump gives inside story of Wuhan lab Covid leak

Former US President Donald Trump has exclusively told Sky News’ Sharri Markson that unusual activity was detected in a Wuhan lab just before the pandemic.

 

Former US President Donald Trump said there was a “tremendous’’ amount of unusual activity at the Wuhan Institute of Virology towards the end of 2019 and he is certain the Covid-19 virus leaked from the laboratory.

Mr Trump revealed the exact nature of two critical pieces of classified information that convinced him the virus escaped from the lab, in an interview with journalist Sharri Markson that will air on Sky News on Monday.

The one-hour documentary What Really Happened in Wuhan builds on information contained in a dossier of concerns held by Western governments that Markson first reported in The Daily Telegraph soon after the start of the outbreak.

In a Sky News Australia exclusive, Sharri Markson uncovers, shocking claims on how the devastating Covid-19 pandemic began in the documentary What Really Happened in Wuhan, premiering Monday at 8pm AEST.

Sharri Markson, the host of Sky News documentary What Really Happened In Wuhan

“When I spoke to President Trump he did reveal two critical things that persuaded him that Covid leaked from a lab in Wuhan,” Markson said.

“It’s hard to verify the claims that Trump makes and it’s possible there may be some fallout over whether that information is still classified or not.”

The book cover of What really happened in Wuhan, by Sharri Markson.

In the interview, Mr Trump said “there was tremendous activity” coming from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Following the trail of the origins of Covid has led Markson to interview Chinese whistleblowers, scientists and high-ranking intelligence officials, including former US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and former head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove.

The result is the one-hour documentary and book of the same name that looks at the origins of a pandemic that has crippled the world and ­explains what exactly went wrong.

For the first time Chinese defectors reveal they knew Covid was spreading in Wuhan as early as November 2019 — six critical weeks ­before China admitted there had been an outbreak.

One, Wei Jingsheng, claims he warned US authorities but they failed to see the significance of the information or act upon it.

“China at first was covering up the outbreak in Wuhan and was not concentrating on containing the spread,” Markson said. “Because it did not contain the outbreak to Wuhan or even China, 4.6 million people have died and their families have lost loved ones.”

Workers inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, which is at the heart of coronavirus conspiracy theories. Picture: AFP

Police patrol a neighborhood in Wuhan, China. Picture: Getty Images

Markson says the World Health Organisation is complicit in the cover-up.

“Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus owes his position as WHO director-general to China. If China had decided not to cover up what happened and the WHO had done its job the world would be a very different place,” Markson said. “There has still been no credible investigation into the origins of Covid-19. It’s outrageous, people deserve better from our world health authorities.”

Sky News Australia chief executive Paul Whittaker said: “The impact of Covid-19 on the lives and livelihoods of so many Australians and people worldwide will be felt for decades to come.’’

“While other media have pretended away crucial information, ignored the debates, or have been incurious about the possibility the virus may have been caused by a lab leak, Sharri has been relentless in her search of the facts, in questioning the right sources and asking the difficult questions.”

What Really Happened in Wuhan will air exclusively on Sky News at 8pm on Monday.