In his final interview before his death, former Ministry of Defence UFO investigator Nick Pope accused the government of hiding the truth about aliens. Pope, often dubbed the real-life Agent Mulder from The X Files, said: “They know there’s more to this than just weather balloons and aircraft lights.”
The former civil servant, who spent three years on the MoD’s “UFO desk”, also insisted world leaders know humanity is not alone in the universe. He made the claims in an upcoming TV documentary filmed shortly before his death.
Investigation and unexplained cases
Pope told presenter Bradley Walsh that during his time investigating UFOs, he received hundreds of reports of sightings each year and could confidently explain around 80% of them. Of the remaining 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,” he added. Pope, who died of cancer in April, said he had no interest in extraterrestrial activity until 1991, when he was asked to investigate UFO phenomena.
Views on alien life and AI
In the first episode of the Sky History show Out Of This World, Bradley, 66, asks Pope if he thinks we are alone in the universe. “We are definitely not,” the expert responds. “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,” he said.
Pope also warned that AI technology could prove a major obstacle for those hoping to prove the existence of extraterrestrials. He said: “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,” he added.
Legacy and the MoD files
Pope, who died shortly after speaking to Bradley, investigated about 1,000 unexplained sightings during his three years on the “UFO desk”. After the department closed, he moved into the media, commenting on the unexplained, conspiracy theories, science fiction, and fringe science.
In the show, Bradley says Pope was one of his heroes and that he had been due to fly to Washington to meet him, but they were forced to talk over Zoom instead when he became very ill. The host of ITV game show The Chase is later seen delving into Britain’s declassified Ministry of Defence files. One shows 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,” he says. The Ministry of Defence did not respond to a request for comment. Bradley Walsh: Out of This World, all episodes available on Tuesday on Sky HISTORY and HISTORY Play.
