Peter Ben Embarek, Head of WHO mission into origins of Covid-19, accepted that patient zero of the pandemic may have been an employee at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The chief, who was part of the WHO mission to Wuhan, China in January, said: “An employee who was infected in the field by taking samples falls under one of the probable hypotheses.” The health organisations initial report ruled out laboratory emissions as "extremely unlikely”.

       Mr Embarek said the first Covid infection may well have happened by collecting - or working with - bats in connection with the research that took place in Wuhan.

       He said: “An employee who was infected in the field by taking samples falls under one of the probable hypotheses.

       “This is where the virus jumps directly from a bat to a human. In that case, it would then be a laboratory worker instead of a random villager or other person who has regular contact with bats.

       “So it is actually in the probable category.”

       In March, the WHO released their report in collaboration with Chinese scientists which said the coronavirus likely emerged in bats and spread to an intermediary animal before it spilled over into humans.

       It also downplayed a speculative theory that the virus leaked from a lab in China, describing that scenario as "extremely unlikely."

       Mr Embarek said at the time: “This is only the start.

       “We've only scratched the surface of these very complex set of studies that need to be conducted."

       The WHO’s Covid origins chief stressed experts found no direct evidence that the coronavirus outbreak is related to the bat research conducted at Wuhan's laboratories when in China in January.

       However, he told Danish Government-owned subscription television station TV 2 experts found several things that should be investigated further, including how the closest known relative to the virus lives in a species of horseshoe bat not near the Wuhan laboratory

       Mr Embarek also said it difficult for the WHO expert team to discuss the laboratory theory with the Chinese at all.

       He said: “Until 48 hours before we finished the whole mission, we still had no agreement that we would talk about the laboratory part of the report, so it was right up to the end that it was discussed whether it should be included or not.”

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