Nick Pope spent three years running the Ministry of Defence's UFO research program between 1991 and 1994. In a February 2025 essay, he argued that the UK's approach to UAP transparency had outpaced the United States in one significant respect: the systematic release of historical files.
Between 2008 and 2013, the MoD transferred its entire UAP archive — approximately 52,000 pages of documents spanning 1950 to 2009 — to the National Archives at Kew. The release was the result of sustained pressure from researchers under the Freedom of Information Act.
"The British government decided the reputational cost of appearing to hide something outweighed the cost of disclosure," Pope wrote. "Whether that was wisdom or indifference is a matter of interpretation. But the files are there."
Pope was careful to note that the released files did not constitute full disclosure. Whatever the MoD had determined through its most sensitive channels remained classified.