UK 'must restart UFO hunt' after American claims of cover-up, expert says

29 July 2023 , 16:24

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Six flying saucers generated an emergency response (Image: Mirrorpix)

Britain must reopen its X Files and become a world leader in investigating possible alien life forms, an expert says. Nick Pope, who used to head the UK’s UFO programme, says Parliament must get “beyond the stigma” of investigating potential sightings.

The former Ministry of Defence expert spoke out after a US Congress security panel was told days ago that ­politicians were kept in the dark for decades over UFOs and UAPs, unidentified aerial phenomenon. A whistleblower claimed “nonhuman biologics” had been found in crashed UAPs. Mr Pope said it was now vital to restart the UK’s UFO programme. He added: “A UK investigation is long overdue, but there’s complete silence from the MoD as well as from Westminster.

“Of course, the stigma is still there. I think that the first person in ­Parliament to say, ‘OK, now what about these UFOs?’ will be ridiculed. But someone’s got to be first. Once the first person jumps in, it’s usually OK because, most times, it turns out that there is more interest in this than you would think. It’s just people don’t advertise it.

A flying saucer in a field near Chippenham, Wiltshire, in 1967 (Mirrorpix)

UFO expert Nick Pope (Nick Pope)

“Somebody needs to step up on this, speak out and take the lead. There might be a bit of short-term giggle factor, but if the experience in the US is anything to go by, where there’s now bipartisan support, it is quite telling. Who’d have predicted it’s the issue of UFOs that would bring Republicans and Democrats together, but we saw it on Wednesday. The Government would be foolish not to act.”

The MoD used to record sightings but stopped in 2009, claiming it had no defence value and the workload was becoming unmanageable after reports for the year reached over 520. For decades, the idea of aliens in flying saucers has inspired theorists and filmmakers – and led to countless pranks.

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David Grusch testifies before a House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee hearing on UFOs (AP)

UFO Insider claims there was a 20% increase in UK sightings in 2022 – with 497 encounters, mainly in the South East and North West. Former US military intelligence officer David Grusch told Congress that executive branch agencies of the US Government withheld ­information about UFOs for years.

Kristian Lander, of The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena, said: “I think it’s going to have a ripple effect in terms of world understanding. Grusch mentioned biological entities being recovered from craft. If that’s true, it could transform the entire world in terms of our perspective of humanity.”

George Litchfield