Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

BBC posts article arguing for the return of official UFO investigations in the UK

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


openminds.tv

The BBC posted an article today by former UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) UFO hunter Nick Pope. The article reviews the history of the UK’s official UFO investigation program and Pope’s argument for the reopening of the program. The story is on the front page of BBC.com and is featured under Editor’s Picks.

Pope says official interest in UFOs in the UK began with Sir Henry Tigard, the Chief Scientific Adviser for the MoD. His interest in the topic was piqued by UFO articles in newspapers. He encouraged a study which was conducted by a small committee called the Flying Saucer Working Party.

Nick Pope’s article was a BBC editor’s pick and featured on their front page. (Credit: BBC.com)

According to Pope, In 1951, the committee concluded “UFO sightings could be explained as misidentifications, hoaxes or delusions.”

They recommended that the government not spend resources investigating the topic. However, that changed the following year when Royal Air Force pilots and other military personnel witnessed UFOs during a NATO exercise. Some were tracked on radar. By 1953, the MoD officially began investigating UFOs.

“A UFO, it’s worth remembering, refers to any unidentified flying object – not necessarily an extraterrestrial one. While the MOD investigations were aimed at determining whether there was evidence of any threat, we were thinking more about Russians than Martians,” writes Pope.

“The theory was that some sightings might involve Soviet spy planes or bombers probing our air defences to try to evaluate the effectiveness of our radar systems, aircraft and pilots.”

Pope manned the UFO desk from 1991 to 1994, but he says “It wasn’t quite as glamorous as sci-fi movies imply: it was less Men in Black and more Men in Grey.”

Nick Pope (center) with Lee Speigel (left), Huffington Post, and this author, Alejandro Rojas (right). (Credit: PCB Productions)

The MoD mostly looked for conventional explanations for UFO sightings, and briefed defence ministers so they could respond to requests by members of parliament. He said their goal was to “respond in a polite, factual, but dismissive way.”

Pope says there were some good cases to come across the desk, such as the Rendelsham Forest incitement in 1980, and a case referred to as the Cosford incident in 1993. Pope can be seen talking about this case in the video at the top of this story.

According to Pope, “Of around 12,000 sightings that the programme investigated, approximately 5% remained unexplained.”

Although there were unexplained cases, the extraterrestrial possibility was still met with skepticism. Instead, other theories were entertained. A secret intelligence study on UFOs completed in 2000 concluded: “No evidence exists to suggest that the phenomena seen are hostile or under any type of control, other than that of natural physical forces.”

However, the report continued: “It is recommended that further investigation should be [made] into the applicability of various characteristics of plasmas in novel military applications.”

“This is the ultimate dirty secret about UFOs,” says Pope. “A natural phenomenon that could be weaponised would be hugely attractive to the military of any nation.”

In 2009, the MoD closed the UFO desk. The official stance became, “The MOD has no opinion on the existence or otherwise of extraterrestrial life. However, in over fifty years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom.”

Nick Pope (image credit: www.nickpope.net)

However, Pope disagrees with their strategy. He says there is now no organized method for the UK to collect sighting reports from the public. He is not arguing we are leaving ourselves open for an attack by aliens, but there are other threats as well, such as drones. He warns, “Drones can be used in espionage, while some security analysts have expressed concerns that terrorists could use them to carry explosives, or slam them into passenger aircraft.”

“Without a place people can go to when they observe something strange, we can’t be fully apprised of what’s going on in our airspace,” Pope argues. “And, after all, even if we are alone in the Universe, we’re not alone on Earth.”

Read the BBC story here.

Listen to Pope talk about these and other UFO topics on the latest episode of Open Minds UFO Radio.


Source: http://www.openminds.tv/bbc-posts-article-arguing-for-the-return-of-official-ufo-investigations-in-the-uk/36644


Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!


Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST


Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!

HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.

Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.

MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)

Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser!  Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!

Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.

Smart Meter Cover -  Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).

Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.