Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has firmly denied accusations of concealing intelligence findings regarding the origins of the coronavirus. Speaking through a spokesperson, Merkel rejected the allegations “fundamentally,” according to a statement published by the Tagesspiegel on Thursday. She further clarified that she could not personally comment on the matter, as official documents from her tenure remain with the Federal Chancellery, not her current office.
BND Report Suggests Lab Origin for COVID-19
The controversy stems from newly surfaced media reports claiming that Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) concluded as early as 2020 that a laboratory accident in Wuhan, China, was the most probable cause of the pandemic. According to investigations by Süddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit, the BND assigned an 80 to 95 percent probability to this hypothesis. These reports suggest that the Federal Chancellery, under Merkel’s leadership, deliberately withheld this information from the public.
Political Figures Respond to Allegations
The alleged suppression of the intelligence findings has drawn criticism from political circles. Former Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU), who served in Merkel’s cabinet, stated that he had no prior knowledge of the intelligence report. Speaking to RTL and ntv on Thursday, Spahn said, “I only know about it from media reports and therefore cannot comment without further information.”
While acknowledging that the debate over a laboratory origin had been ongoing for years, Spahn emphasized that even if the intelligence findings had been disclosed earlier, they would not have affected Germany’s pandemic response. “The virus was what it was and caused the health damage it caused,” he noted, adding that the reports—if confirmed—would have implications for international policy and research safety measures rather than domestic health measures.
Impact on Germany’s Pandemic Response
Germany confirmed its first case of COVID-19 in late January 2020 in the Bavarian district of Starnberg. In response, Merkel’s administration implemented a series of strict containment measures, including social distancing mandates and school closures. While some of these policies remain subjects of debate, Merkel’s government consistently justified them as necessary to protect public health.
As scrutiny over the BND report intensifies, questions remain about how intelligence agencies and political leaders handled critical information during the early stages of the pandemic. Merkel’s firm denial of a cover-up ensures the debate is far from over.
Source:https://de.nachrichten.yahoo.com/bnd-bericht-corona-ursprung-merkel-093825806.html
