In the United Kingdom, two developments took place on Thursday, shedding light on the origin of the pandemic-causing virus.
The first was the British House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's grilling of Dr. Richard Horton, the editor of the prestigious medical journal the Lancet, and the second was the testimony of Harvard scientist Dr. Alina Chan, author of the book called "Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19."
Members of Parliament pressed Dr. Richard Horton to explain why the Lancet published a letter denouncing the lab leak theory as a conspiracy despite Dr. Peter Daszak, the letter's lead author, having financial ties to the Wuhan Lab. Dr. Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, had persuaded 26 other scientists to sign off on the letter he had written claiming the virus could only be a product of nature and to suggest otherwise creates 'fear, rumors, and prejudice.'
While mobilizing the letter, Dr. Daszak had advised his co-authors that it should not appear to be coming from him or his organization. Dr. Daszak's role in orchestrating the Lancet letter was not known until it was revealed by leaked emails. Even then, he remained on the Lancet commission investigating the origin of Covid for many months longer.
