Former MoD official apologizes for downplaying UFO reports

The UK National Archives released another batch of UFO files last week, marking the eighth batch of formerly classified documents to be released to the public. These latest files, like previously released files, indicate the government’s lack of interest in investigating UFO sighting reports; at least that was the perception the Ministry of Defence was trying to create.

Nick Pope, who was the desk officer in charge of the MoD’s UFO files, recently told the Huffington Post, “What’s abundantly clear from these files is that, while in public we were desperately pushing the line that this was of no defense interest.” But he goes on to state, “We were telling the public we’re not interested, this is all nonsense, but in reality, we were desperately chasing our tails and following this up in great detail.”

Pope divulged an insiders look at the government’s game of misleading people. He revealed one tactic used to downplay UFO reports was to refer to witnesses as “UFO buffs” or “UFO spotters” to make them sound less credible. They additionally used terms like “little green men” in reports to make the sightings seem silly, which would hopefully reduce the chance of the media picking up the story.

When Pope was with the MoD, he too was required to go along with the policy of deception. He told the Huffington Post, “I believe in open government and freedom of information. I believe that the UFO phenomenon does raise important defense, national security and air safety issues, and if I helped kill any initiative on that, I’m deeply sorry.”