One of the UK’s top UFO experts has given his views on the likelihood of aliens suddenly appearing in our skies – and how the international community would respond.
Nick Pope, who has more than two decades under his belt at the Ministry of Defence, said mass summer events – like the Olympic Games in London – would be a prime time for crafts from other worlds to present themselves to mankind.
He warned: ‘With the summer of mass events we are all on high alert for terrorism. But we must also cast our eyes further afield and be prepared for even the most seemingly unfathomable.”
Pope’s duties at the MoD included investigating reports of UFOs between 1991 and 1994, and says he began his research as a sceptic, before becoming convinced that the sightings raised important defence for national security and air safety issues.
He was particularly interested in cases where the witnesses were pilots, or where UFOs were tracked on radar, and said there were other believers among his former colleagues.
He said: ‘It has been a widely held belief in Ministry of Defence circles that “aliens” have been able to detect us for decades via TV and radio broadcasts.
‘What once seemed like science fiction is steadily being realised by central governing bodies as distinctly real.
‘If aliens have studied our psychology, they may choose to appear in our skies on a significant date – the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games is one date being widely circulated by conspiracy groups.
‘The atomic bombs detonated in the 1940s, and the rocket technology since developed would unquestionably have alerted nearby alien civilisations to our existence.
‘On their arrival it is difficult to say what they would do: explore, help or destroy. Our resources make us quite a special threat.’
Hopefully, if aliens do come and introduce themselves to us, they come in a spirit of warmth, friendship and shared learning – but Pope said the government was also prepared for the worst scenarios.
He said: ‘The government must – and has planned – for the worst-case scenario: alien attack and alien invasion.
