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'Aliens could attack at any time' warns former MoD chief
Last updated at 14:07pm on 10.11.06
Alien visitor? The infamous Roswell incident of 1947
UFO sightings and alien visitors tend to be solely the reserve of sci-fi movies.
So when a former MoD chief warns that the country could be attacked by extraterrestrials at any time, you may be forgiven for feeling a little alarmed.
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During his time as head of the Ministry of Defence UFO project, Nick Pope was persuaded into believing that other lifeforms may visit Earth and, more specifically, Britain.
His concern is that "highly credible" sightings are simply dismissed.
And he complains that the project he once ran is now "virtually closed" down, leaving the country "wide open" to aliens.
Mr Pope decided to speak out about his worries after resigning from his post at the Directorate of Defence Security at the MoD this week.
"The consequences of getting this one wrong could be huge," he said.
"If you reported a UFO sighting now, I am absolutely sure that you would just get back a standard letter telling you not to worry. ''Frankly we are wide open - if something does not behave like a conventional aircraft now, it will be ignored.
"The X-Files have been closed down." If these words had come from a sci-fi fanatic, they could be easily dismissed by cynics.
But Mr Pope's CV - he was head of the UFO project between 1991 and 1994 - cannot be ignored.
When he began his job, he too was sceptical about UFOs but access to classified files on the subject and investigation of a series of spectacular UFO sightings gradually changed his mind.
And while Mr Pope says that there is no evidence of hostile intent, he insists it cannot be ruled out.
"There has got to be the potential for that and one is left with the uneasy feeling that if it turned out to be so, there is very little we could do about it," he said.
"If you believe these things are extra terrestrial craft then you cannot rule out that what is happening is some kind of covert reconnaissance."
One incident which persuaded him of the existence of alien lifeforms was in 1993. There were reports of a "vast, triangular-shaped craft" spotted flying over RAF bases in the West Midlands.
"Most of the witnesses were police and military personnel," he said.
"Hundreds of members of the public also had sightings over a period of several hours."
In another incident in 1980 at RAF bases in Suffolk, staff investigated a suspected plane crash after bright lights were reported coming from nearby woods.
They found a kind of lunar landing module standing on three legs which then flew off. The indents it left in the ground were found to emit ten times the normal levels of radiation. Mr Pope said: "These sort of incidents are why I got so frustrated.
"In my time I would brief the more interesting sightings up the chain of command to people like the Chief of the Air Staff and would get the answer back that it was very interesting and I had clearly done a good job investigating it and that was it.
"Every one is a piece of a puzzle but no one takes it seriously. There needs to be more resources and people who are prepared to look past the philosophical issues, look at the reports and investigate them properly.
"Whether you believe these things are foreign air forces testing prototype aircraft or whether you believe they are something more exotic, with the speeds and movements they are capable of, it's technology we would very much like to get hold of."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence insisted that all UFO sightings were investigated for "evidence to suggest that UK airspace has been compromised by hostile or unauthorised air activity."
She said: "Unless there is such evidence, the MoD doesn't attempt to positively identify what was seen."
Mr Pope is continuing his UFO research in a private capacity since leaving the MoD and is recognised as a leading authority on UFOs and the unexpected.
He has written four science fiction books drawing on his experience at the MoD, and lectures around the world on the subject.
He has appeared on BBC Newsnight and Radio 4's Today programme and has acted as consultant on numerous television documentaries.
Reader views (20)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Nick Pope is telling the truth, apart from the bit about the alien invasion, which is obviously what his 'former bosses' want him to say. There may indeed be an alien invasion, but it won't be by the aliens, just the military in galactic drag.
The only consolation is that these visitors by their very presence have proved they are far too intelligent to believe governments. If only 'the people' were a little smarter huh?
- The Iron Triangle, Nottingham
This is the man who couldn't explain the recent (2008 July) sightings caused by Chinese fire balloons. He should be left in a corner with a large drink and quietly ignored.
- Ian Ridpath, Brentford, Middlesex
The men in white coats should be calling shortly....
- James Ritchie, London, UK.
Triangular 1993 - Vstol stealth fighter anyone??
If we really are shooting them down in droves, I for one am proud of our Royal Airforce- who while not being able to stop the Taliban with the meager resources that they (the RAF) have, would seem capable of prevailing in an intersteller conflict
- Mark Williams, London
Very interesting times we are living in. I saw something very strange in the eastern sky a couple of weeks ago when we had a rare, very clear evening. It was 9 pm and my boyfriend and I were watching the stars. One "star" was brighter than the others and it clearly moved up, at an angle, then it moved back down. It was fascinating to watch because neither one of us had ever spotted anything like this in the sky before. Whatever it was, it was brighter than the other stars and it had a bright red color peeking from behind one side of it. Has anyone else spotted anything like this?
- Darlene J. Johnson, Kelso, Washington USA
It is with great regret that I must humbly offer my apologies to the people of Earth. I have recently discovered that my pod-offspring, Zorloff 8, has been borrowing the family cruiser to buzz your world to startle isolated Earth denizens. Apparently this is some sort of initiation ritual for his interstellar fraternity. Be assured that I have given him a stern talking to and sent him to his space room. Again, I apologize for any inconvenience he may have caused your planet.
Zort Mifruff!
- Zorloff 7, Crab Nebula
If they are so intelligent life why would they try to land in Britain?
- Dereck, Eltham, London
Nick Pope is a decent person, who took an interest in the evidence that I emailed him.
I know that many of the craft visiting us aren't hostile, as I have had my own experiences with ufos and the unknown. We are the hostiles. Our military shoot them down without rhyme, or reason. I feel a lot of our advancement of technology is due in large part to us taking it from their downed craft.
Who can blame them if they chose to fight back. We have given reason to. We invite them to our world, only to shoot them down. I can empathise with Nick leaving the MOD. He is better out of it, and he can do more on his own.
- Rachel, Norwich
They're here!
You don't believe me? Well, take a good hard look at the Government's Front Bench. Spot anything odd?
It sure makes you think, doesn't it?
- Ted, Shetland
It may be true that we are open to attack, but it appears that we are being only monitored so far. We would have been a much easier target when we were far less technologically advanced not long ago, why didn't they blow us up already? The only shots fired so far reportedly have been at them.
It seems the monitoring has merely ramped up since humanity developed nuclear weapons and entered space mid last century. A dangerous combination. It's self-determination if we're so stupid we kill ourselves. Humankind demonstrates to be a violent, fearful, spiritually unevolved species, with advancing technology at an alarming rate. What ET race [possibly thousands of years more evolved than us] would not consider humanity entering space a security issue?
Quite possibly, at this time, we're the meatheads of the universe.
To me, it's no different to how countries on earth monitor each other, in military progress and intercontinental reach.
I appreciate Nick Pope's effort to shed light on an important topic, but it is very light reading compared to the information available out there from many other credible sources.
I find it hard to believe there would be no 'department' anymore.
- Mel, Australia
Oh well, at least if the aliens arrive they couldn't possibly make a worse job of running the world than the politicians we have in place already!
- Sue, Orpington, Kent
Mr Ebhart, I think you've got your story wrong. Almost all of the witnesses still stand by their story regarding the Rendelsham Incident in Suffolk, including Lt Colonel Charles Halt, who wrote the original memo regarding the incident. You should get your facts straight before commenting in this way.
- Robert Culman, London
Well I think this is real enough and it's good that somebody speaks on the subject. But will there be any official reaction besides the usual denial?
- Captain Jack, Malta
The Suffolk incident mentioned in the article was admitted to be a hoax by the witnesses, yet this man still 'believes' it was genuine.
It sounds like theis man has spent too long in the job.
- Paul Ebhart, Guildford
I wonder how this breaking news will affect Mr Pope's science fiction book sales - and his lecture tour business.
- Robert Holiday, Tadcaster, UK
I've had two UFO sightings in two different countries and can tell you they are very real. When you witness one up-close, it totally convinces you that something very strange is going on. The USA alone has over a hundred UFO sighting reports per week. I don't blame those that haven't seen one for not believing, but it's very frustrating to receive cold responses from the government and the academic world. It seems like no one takes the issue seriously when, in my experience, I know something very big is happening. I guess I just identify with Mr. Pope here and wish something would come of all this. We really have done nothing to prepare ourselves in the event that they are indeed hostile.
- Wes, Mercer Island, WA, USA
I compare UFO sightings to seeing ball lightning. Very few of us have ever seen ball lightning but we take it for granted that it is real and people have seen it. Yet, when it comes to UFO sightings, the 'approved' reaction is to laugh it off and decide the UFO witness was mistaken due to various reasons in his/her observation, or was being a deliberate hoaxer and trying to fool people. It's likely to assume that more people have seen UFO objects - up close - than those who have seen ball lightning. I've never seen either, but I think it's very possible both exist. Nick Pope is one of the few in a position of authority to state there is a problem and it needs to be properly and rather urgently addressed. Objects of unknown origin and intent, exhibiting outrageous flight dynamics often over public roads and habitats, are flying in our airspaces without challenge from our protective military forces. There are plenty of UFO witnesses in all aspects of profession to back him up. I don't know where UFOs are from (please, no secret military craft talk because flying these over public areas is being plain stupid) or why they buzz around us, but something completely strange and unusual is happening despite constant denials by most of the world's governments and military establishments.
- Miss_Lain, MN, U.S.A.
I apprecaite Mr.Pope's attitude and viewpoint,especially to speak out his view on his background.
I'll be interested in further development in his activities and coments.
- Gary, china
I have no doubt as a UFO enthusiast that Mr. Pope is a person of impeccable credentials and testimony on the subject. However, I can just hear the skeptical community now snickering behind his back about the fact that Pope has written four science fiction books about his experiences at the MoD yet we are supposed to believe his supposed factual testimony on UFOs.
I think that part of the problem in the analysis of extraterrestrial intentions is that we are attempting to interpret the UFO data in earthly terms, values, and through the eyes of money-motivated Hollywood reproductions of those values rather than what the powers that be know about Why They Are Here. It may also be that those alien motivations for visiting earth may be as foreign to us as the technology that got them here in the first place and that we are still in the infancy stage after decades of clandestine research of discovering their true intentions.
- John, Broken Arrow, OK, USA
They are coming to get you!
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke
