Oral Answers to Questions

Aaron Bell Excerpts

Tuesday 19th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concerns. I discussed the protests with Foreign Minister Jaishankar when I visited India in December. Of course, this is a major, Government-led reform that reduces subsidies as part of the liberalisation process, but the hon. Gentleman makes some important points about freedom of protest and sensitivity. Of course, India’s politics is very much our politics, but we need to respect its democratic process.

[Aaron Bell (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Con) [V]]

It is obviously crucial for both scientific understanding and global security that we understand the origins of the covid-19 outbreak. What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the US State Department’s factsheet, published on 15 January, which details that the US Government have reason to believe that several researchers inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both covid-19 and common seasonal illnesses?