U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told a group of British lawmakers that China had “bought” the head of the World Health Organization, according to people familiar with the matter.
At a private meeting in London on Tuesday, Pompeo said there was firm intelligence to show that a deal had been done to get Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the job of WHO director-general and that this had resulted in the deaths of U.K. citizens from coronavirus, the people said.
Three of those who were present at the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussion was private, said Pompeo told them he believed China had bought the WHO chief. He didn’t give further details of what he meant but said there was intelligence to support this comment.
The Chinese Embassy in London and the State Department did not respond to emailed requests for comment. The WHO rejected “unfounded allegations.”
