Christopher Wray, the FBI director, has weighed in on the debate over the origins of the Covid-19 virus, using an appearance on Fox News to endorse the theory that the virus potentially originated from a leak in a Chinese laboratory.

“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” Wray told Fox News' Brett Baier, adding that the assessment was based on research the agency's analysts, including scientists, had conducted and that “our work related to this continues”.

Wray's high-profile public comment highlights the divide within the US intelligence community about the origins of the pandemic, with some federal agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Energy, concluding that the Covid-19 virus probably originated from a lab leak in China , while others have concluded that it first spread from infected animals to humans.

Wray’s public endorsement of the lab leak theory runs counter to the conclusions of several prominent scientific studies, as well as the assessments of some other US intelligence agencies. Wray did not explain the evidence that had informed the FBI’s conclusion. “There’s not a whole lot of details I can share that aren’t classified,” he said.

The Central Intelligence Agency and another prominent US federal agency still remain undecided about the origins of Covid-19, while the National Intelligence Council and four other agencies have concluded that the virus originated in animals, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.