Sky News host Andrew Bolt says claims coronavirus came from a Wuhan exotic animal market were beginning to fall apart with a Chinese academic pointing the finger at dangerous virology labs.

A scholar from the South China University of Technology wrote a report casting doubt on the claim revealing “bat was never a food source in Wuhan” and bat was never sold at the infamous wet market.

Instead, the author theorised that “a nearby laboratory just 300 metres from the market” was responsible for the outbreak. He said a researcher who worked coronaviruses and bats was quarantined for 14 days after being splashed with infected blood and urine.

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The scholar has since withdrawn his paper, a decision Mr Bolt said may have been due to pressure “to shut up” from Chinese leadership. Mr Bolt also revealed on his show that another nearby lab, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, bragged about discovering and identifying “a large number of new bat and rodent viruses” in a job ad posted in 2019.