Revealed: Shocking images of Wuhan scientists handling bats without safety precautions

Deleted photographs from the website of the Wuhan Institute of Virology have reignited conspiracy theories over the source of the coronavirus pandemic

Days after a spy dossier accused China of intentionally destroying evidence of the coronavirus outbreak, a new report claims that the Wuhan Institute of Virology deleted pictures from its website that showed scientists handling bat samples without any safety precautions.

The images - which reveal a shocking lack of safety - were taken down by the Wuhan Institute of Virology after diplomats and scientists raised the alarm about its work.
 

According to reports, one worker admitted being sprayed with bat blood or urine as images showed staff brazenly collecting samples with no face masks or protective suits.

A leaked US intelligence report says China lied about human-to-human transmission of coronavirus, made whistleblowers disappear – and refused to help develop a vaccine.

US and British intelligence officials suspect bungling scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology accidentally spread the killer disease during risky coronavirus tests on bats.
 

And it appears to have also removed all reference to a visit in March 2018 by Rick Switzer, a science and technology expert from the US embassy in Beijing who then raised the alert.

Incredibly some scientists didn’t even wear gloves as they entered caves to collect fecal bat swab samples, beaming for the camera and oblivious to the dangers.

As a result of his visit, cables were sent to the US State Department from the embassy warning about the risks of experiments on bats.

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he had seen intelligence that gave him a "high degree of confidence'" that the global crisis had its origins in the institute.

 
It was claimed that COVID-19 was "developed in the Wuhan lab as China hoped to prove it's greater than the US at battling deadly diseases".