From: Ari Sarkar
The newspaper - The Mail on Sunday
Big Headline - ET LIVES, SAYS MAN FROM THE MINISTRY
Journalist - Nick Fielding
Begin article -
It was the week when John Redwood's earthly origins were called into
doubt and Mr.Spock pointy ears were given away by the thousand.
So it will come as no surprise that one of Whitehall's finest has
succumbed to the power of aliens.
Nick Pope headed the Secretariat (Air Staff) 2a office, with a brief to
deal with inquiries about flying saucers and other unexplained
phenomena.
It was his calm voice which reassured the many members of the public
who called to report strange lights in the sky or little green men on
the lawn.
But, in possibly the most embarrassing turnaround in Ministry of
Defence history, Mr.Pope has gone over to the other side.
To the horror of his employers, the 29-year old civil servant, who now
works in another part of the Ministry, has become a convert.
"I think it is fair to say that in my three years as the Government
expert on UFOs, I was regarded as a bit of a maverick," said Mr.Pope.
MENACE
"I came into that job as an open-minded sceptic and I came out a
believer."
As if that were not enough, the errant ufologist is to publish a book
based on his experiences as Britain's first line of defence in the
undeclared war against the alien menace.
Provisionally titled OPEN SKIES, CLOSED MINDS : OFFICIAL REACTION
TO THE UFO PHENOMENON the book is unlikely to win him many friends at
the Ministry.
In fact, his bosses have already expressed their displeasure at his
manuscript, for which he must get permission before publication.
The book examines all the available records in the Whitehall archives
and talks about a number of new cases.
But Mr.Pope offers little comfort for UFO buffs seeking proof of a
Government cover-up.
"We don't throw open our files en bloc, but eventually most of them
filter down to the Public Record Office."
Mr.Pope cannot pinpoint the moment of his conversion, but he rules out
an alien plot.
He says he was convinced by the details of a small number of British
sightings which have so far defied conventional explanation.
"Probably the best example is the Rendlesham Forest case in December
1980 where some kind of object came down in Suffolk near the RAF bases
at Woodbridge and Bentwaters. This is now regarded as the best attested
case of a UFO crash outside the US."
Mr.Pope's conversion is likely to cause a sensation among committed
ufologists.
Graham Birdsall, editor of UFO Magazine, said : "I welcome the bravery
of a man who must have experienced tremendous pressure from his
superiors, but who stuck to his views."
The MOD refused to comment on Mr.Pope.
But surely the men from the Ministry are wishing that someone,
somewhere, would beam him up.
Notes - 1/ The first paragraph is a jokey reference to domestic
political matters.
2/ The last paragraph is in italics, indicating a stab at humour from
the hack.
3/The Mail on Sunday newspaper is the Sunday edition of The Daily Mail,
a semi-reputable UK tabloid. It seems to be the only UK paper that
covered this story.
The date - July 2 1995
Litte headline - WHITEHALL SHOCK AS ITS CHIEF ALIEN-WATCHER ADMITS :
I BELIEVE IN UFOS
end article.