Intelligence agencies from the 'Five Eyes' network comprising of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the US are examining the work of two staffers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8261201/Australia-funded-Chinese-scientists-research-bats.html Two Chinese scientists who worked for the Wuhan Institute of Virology studied bats in a CSIRO facility as part of researched funded by both the Australian and Chinese governments.  Intelligence agencies from the 'Five Eyes' network comprising of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the US are examining the work of two staffers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, according to the Daily Telegraph.   However, when questioned about the allegations by ABC Radio National, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham denied knowing of any such investigation.   'I don't and the government does not comment on national security or intelligence matters, that is a long standing practice. I am not aware of any investigation and I wouldn't comment on them even if I were,' Senator Birmingham said. 'However, we want to see transparent investigations into the causes so that we can prevent repeats of such pandemics into the future.' The alleged probe comes as President Donald Trump said the US is looking into whether the virus accidentally leaked from the lab, which was researching coronaviruses including the SARS virus, a close genetic relative of the current virus. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US had demanded access to the facility but the lab director said 'there's no way this virus came from us' and Beijing rejected the request. Shi Zhengli (pictured in 2017) - who is known as 'bat woman' by her colleagues - studied bat faeces to identify the mammals as a natural host for viruses similar to SARS Shi Zhengli Zhou Peng, head of Wuhan's Bat Virus Infection and Immunity Project An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan One of the scientists whose work is reportedly being examined by western spies spent three years at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory between 2011 and 2014. Zhou Peng, head of Wuhan's Bat Virus Infection and Immunity Project, was part of a study which involved transporting bats from Queensland to the lab in Geelong, Victoria where they were killed, dissected and studied for viruses. The project, funded jointly by the Australia and Chinese governments, found 'bats are rich reservoirs for emerging viruses'.  The other scientist whose work is being examined also worked at Australia's Animal Health Laboratory for three months in 2006. Shi Zhengli - who is known as 'bat woman' by her colleagues because of her expeditions into bat caves to analyse the animals - studied bat faeces to identify the mammals as a natural host for viruses similar to SARS.   The two scientists jointly wrote a paper in January that said the new coronavirus probably originated from bats, just like SARS. Zhengli told the Scientific American that when she was first told of a pneumonia outbreak she feared the lab may be responsible for leaking coronaviruses. Vendors wearing face masks as they offer prawns for sale at a market in Wuhan where reports of the virus first emerged in December She told the journal that she wondered: 'Could they have come from our lab?'  Later, test results showed genome sequences taken from infected patients did not match any her team were working on in the lab, meaning the new coronavirus did not come from an accidental leak. She said: 'That really took a load off my mind. I had not slept a wink for days.'   A spokesman for CSIRO confirmed bat research took place with international partners in Geelong. The spokesman said: 'CSIRO undertakes all research in accordance with strict biosecurity and legislative requirements. 'CSIRO's collaborations with research organisations from many countries around the world are helping drive global effort forwards to human diseases prevention and management.  'As with all partners, CSIRO undertakes due diligence and takes security very seriously.'   This photo taken on April 15, 2020 shows a worker wearing a face mask as he throws ice into a pool with fish at a shop at a market in Wuhan where the first reports of the virus emerged in December It comes after the Australian government joined the US in calling for an international inquiry into the origins of coronavirus. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly called for a coronavirus investigation and has demanded changes in the 'upper echelons' of the World Health Organisation after it praised China's handling of the outbreak. He was also the fist world leader to call for a ban on China's wet markets where the virus is suspected of jumping from animals to humans in November, calling their re-opening 'unfathomable'