Nick Pope, a former civil servant who spent three years working on the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) ‘UFO desk’, accused the Government of concealing the truth about aliens in a final interview before his death. He claimed ministers “know there’s more to this than just weather balloons and aircraft lights”.
Mr Pope, dubbed the ‘real life Agent Mulder’ from the sci-fi drama The X-Files, claimed world leaders know humans are not alone in the universe. He made the comments in an upcoming TV documentary hosted by Bradley Walsh, filmed shortly before his death earlier this year.
Claims on UFO sightings
Mr Pope told the presenter that during his time investigating UFOs, he would get hundreds of reports of sightings each year and could confidently explain around 80% of them, the Daily Star reports. But of the other 20%, he said: “We were not able to find a definitive result. Some of this doesn’t quite add up.
“Objects running rings around the cutting edge of our own aerospace tech. Speeds, manoeuvres, accelerations we can’t match. At the very least, I think it’s fair to say it was enough to make me take another look at this.”
Final interview and legacy
Mr Pope died of cancer in April. He said he had no interest in extraterrestrial activity until 1991, when he was asked to investigate the phenomena of unidentified flying objects. He was interviewed by Walsh for the new Out Of This World programme, which starts on Sky HISTORY next week.
In the first episode, Walsh, 66, asks Mr Pope if he thinks we are alone in the universe. The expert responded: “We are definitely not.” He continued: “You know, the universe is nearly 14 billion years old. You’ve only got to imagine a civilisation with a million year, let alone a billion year headstart on us and all bets are off. So life out there, definitely.
“Us being visited, I’m less sure. I certainly hope so, because I tell you this, the world with aliens in it is going to be far more interesting and fun than the world with no aliens. So bring them on.”
AI and the search for answers
Mr Pope went on to warn AI technology could prove a major obstacle for sleuths hoping to prove the existence of extraterrestrials. He added: “I think the technology, which you would think works for us, works against us. Now with the rise of AI, you don’t really know if something is real or not.
“This is one of the biggest and most profound questions we can ask as human beings. Are we alone or not in the universe? Are we being visited? If we got an answer to that, it would change the world forever.”
Mr Pope, who died shortly after speaking to Walsh, investigated about 1,000 unexplained sightings during his three years on the MoD’s UFO desk. After the team was shut down, he moved into the media, commenting on the unexplained, conspiracy theories, science fiction, and fringe science.
In his new show, Walsh says Mr Pope was one of his heroes and he had been due to fly to Washington to meet him, but they were forced to talk via a video call instead when he became very ill. The host of ITV game show The Chase is later seen delving into Britain’s declassified MoD files. One shows Sir Winston Churchill asked for a report into flying saucers in 1952.
He then heads to Rendlesham Forest, dubbed “Britain’s Roswell”, the scene of the country’s most famous alleged UFO incident. At one point, he asks: “If people have seen them, and UFOs or aliens have visited, why haven’t people taken notice?
“Why isn’t it on the News at 10? Are the news corporations keeping it from us? What is going on? I have no idea. It’s pretty naive of us to imagine that we’re the only planet sustainable of life in the entire universe. There’s gotta be something out there.”
The MoD did not respond to the Star’s request for comment. All episodes of Bradley Walsh: Out Of This World will be available on Tuesday on Sky HISTORY and HISTORY Play.
