There is a need to undertake a fully independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 without interference in China, said British health minister Matt Hancock on Thursday.

“It is essential that we have a fully independent investigation in China into finding out all we can about this, and that that is allowed to happen unencumbered,” he told lawmakers.

“And part of the reforms that we need, to the way that the worldwide systems operate, is to make sure that we can properly find answers to these questions, because at the moment, it is impossible to know… we do need to get to the bottom of this.”