Nick Pope

Former UK Ministry of Defence UFO Investigator

Born 1965 – 2026

Affiliations

UK Ministry of Defence (retired, 1985–2006)
Ancient Aliens (recurring on-screen expert)
NewsNation (contributor)

Nick Pope died on April 6, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona, at age 60, of Stage 4 esophageal cancer. His wife, Elizabeth Weiss, announced his passing: “My heart is breaking – Nick passed away this afternoon at our home. I was so lucky to have met and to have married Nick. He was a wonderful husband. I loved him dearly.”

Nick Pope spent 21 years as a civil servant at the British Ministry of Defence, but it was a three-year posting to the department’s UFO desk – Secretariat (Air Staff) 2a – that defined his public life. From 1991 to 1994, Pope was the UK government’s point man for investigating unidentified aerial phenomena, assessing roughly 200–300 sighting reports per year for their defense, national security, and flight safety implications. He found that about 80% could be explained; roughly 5% remained categorized as genuinely “unknown.”

After leaving government in 2006, Pope became one of the most visible and tireless advocates for taking UAP seriously – writing bestselling books, appearing in hundreds of television episodes, and bridging the gap between officialdom and the public. Media dubbed him “the real Fox Mulder.” He moved to the United States in 2012 and married American anthropologist Elizabeth Weiss, whom he called his “real-life Agent Scully.” Pope died on April 6, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona, at age 60, of Stage 4 esophageal cancer diagnosed just weeks earlier. Even in his final days, he continued giving interviews from home.

Career Timeline

Year	Role	Organization
1985	Joined as civil servant	UK Ministry of Defence
1991–1994	UFO Desk Officer, Secretariat (Air Staff) 2a	UK Ministry of Defence
1994–2006	Various postings including Directorate of Defence Security	UK Ministry of Defence
1996	Published Open Skies, Closed Minds	Simon & Schuster
1997	Published The Uninvited	Simon & Schuster
2006	Retired from government service	UK Ministry of Defence
2012	Relocated to the United States	–
2014–2026	Recurring on-screen expert	History Channel’s Ancient Aliens
2025–2026	Moderator	Ancient Aliens Live touring production

Role in UAP Disclosure

The UFO Desk (1991–1994)

Pope inherited a posting that most MoD staff treated as a backwater. He approached it differently – treating each sighting report as a potential defense matter and building systematic case files. His tenure coincided with two of the UK’s most significant UAP waves.

The Cosford Incident (1993)

On the night of March 30–31, 1993, Pope’s phones “rang off the hook” as a wave of UFO sightings swept across southern England. Police officers, RAF personnel, and a meteorological observer at RAF Shawbury all reported a large, slow-moving triangular craft. Pope ordered sequestration of air traffic control data, obtained permission for a full investigation, and dubbed the event “the Cosford Incident.” He later called it “the turning point” in his career – the case that convinced him the phenomenon was real.

Rendlesham Forest Cold Case Review

Although the Rendlesham Forest incident occurred in December 1980 – before Pope joined the MoD – he conducted the government’s cold case review of the event during his UFO desk tenure. He read all classified papers, met key witnesses at length, and confirmed that unusually high radiation levels had been detected at the landing site along with triangular ground indentations. He also discovered that a U.S. general had removed evidence without informing UK authorities.

Post-Government Advocacy

After retiring in 2006, Pope became the public face of serious UFO discussion in the UK and globally. He authored or co-authored more than ten books, appeared in hundreds of episodes of Ancient Aliens, and served as a consultant on UFO-themed films and TV productions. He was a regular on NewsNation, the BBC, and dozens of international outlets.

Pope was sharply critical of the UK government’s 2009 decision to shut down its UFO investigation program, calling it “a huge mistake” and warning that Britain had left itself blind to potential aerospace threats.

Five Eyes and International Dimension

Pope consistently argued that UAP intelligence was being shared among the Five Eyes nations – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States – and that the UK’s public posture of disinterest masked deeper engagement behind closed doors.

Final Weeks

On February 12, 2026, Pope announced via X that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 esophageal cancer that had metastasized to his liver. His statement was characteristically direct: “I can’t beat it.” He stepped back from moderating Ancient Aliens Live but continued conducting interviews from his home in Tucson, spending his remaining days with his wife Elizabeth, watching British comedy shows, and speaking to journalists until the end.

Notable Statements

“I said, at the time, that I thought this was a huge mistake.” – On the UK’s 2009 decision to end UFO investigations, Mystery Wire interview

“This subject has absolutely transitioned out of the fringe and into the mainstream.” – Mystery Wire interview

“I think more information has been exchanged… the UAP Task Force has for some time now been sharing its interim conclusions and some of the raw data about UFOs across Five Eyes nations.” – Mystery Wire interview

“I’m afraid my diagnosis and my situation leaves no doubt whatsoever: I can’t beat it.” – Personal statement on X, February 12, 2026

Key Publications & Appearances

Date	Title / Appearance	Outlet
1996	Open Skies, Closed Minds	Simon & Schuster
1997	The Uninvited: An Exposé of the Alien Abduction Phenomenon	Simon & Schuster
2014–2026	Recurring expert, hundreds of episodes	History Channel’s Ancient Aliens
2025–2026	Moderator	Ancient Aliens Live (touring)
Various	Regular contributor	NewsNation, BBC, Discovery Channel