The scientists submitted the proposal in 2018 to create genetically enhanced viruses to infect humans more easily – just over a year before the first Covid case emerged.

Researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) wanted to test out the vaccination of bats to see if it could reduce the spread of coronaviruses and lower the likelihood of the lethal bug spilling over into humans.

The proposal – called “Defuse” – was a project led by Peter Daszak of the EcoHealth Alliance – a US-based organisation which has worked closely with the WIV for years on the research of coronaviruses in bats.