Downing Street has removed China from the list of other countries it uses to compare the spread of the coronavirus due to questions about the accuracy of Chinese data.

Until Thursday, ministers had shown China charts detailing cases and deaths in other countries at the government’s daily press conference, comparing them to those in the United Kingdom. China’s figures have since disappeared.

Before being removed, China was one of nine countries included in a government-published “global comparison of deaths”, with figures suggesting that China’s figures were lower than other countries, such as United States, Italy and Spain.

Currently, the country’s official death toll stands at 4,636 deaths from the coronavirus and 83,901 people have tested positive for the virus.

Downing Street has removed figures from the Chinese coronavirus it uses in its international comparisons at its daily press conferences

However, a study by experts from the University of Hong Kong suggests that the numbers in the country where the virus is believed to be much higher.

Experts say the number of positive tests could have been up to 232,000 in the first wave of the virus, which would be four times its official figures.

According to the Times, China yesterday reported only 12 new cases of the virus, including 11 imported from abroad, with no new deaths. In contrast, the United Kingdom today announced 4,913 new cases of coronavirus, with 813 deaths.

The government has reportedly set up a Chinese research group to “promote debate and reflection” on Britain’s relations with China, which will include eight permanent members of parliament and other conservative supporters.

Some Conservative MPs fear that inaccurate figures may hinder the UK’s response to the coronavirus.

In the shared graph on Friday (photo), China had been removed from the graph which showed the number of deaths in different countries of the world due to coronavirus

Conservative chairman of the select foreign affairs committee and founder of the research group, Tom Tugendhat, said: “These data are used to judge the effectiveness of our own response, whether good or bad.

“It is important that we compare in the same way, otherwise our own answers could be skewed, leading to more deaths in the UK,” he said. “Clearly, number 10 thinks the same as the rest of the world – that the data from China is unreliable and possibly false. “

The research group is said to be modeled on the European Research Group, the pro-Brexit group that reviewed the Thersea May Brexit deal that never was, and will take a similar approach in the country’s relations with China. .

“There is no point in regaining control of Brussels and handing it over to Beijing,” said Tugendhat.

Conservative Chairman of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and founder of the research group, Tom Tugendhat, said: “There is no point in regaining control of Brussels and handing it over to Beijing”

In the photo: a woman is released from quarantine in Hong Kong after testing negative for Covid-19. China has dismissed calls for an international investigation into the origins of the virus

China yesterday rejected calls for an independent international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, with experts saying information about how it started and spread may help other countries as they fight the disease.

Chen Wen, one of China’s top diplomats, told the BBC that the demands were politically motivated and were trying to divert China from its own fight against the pandemic.