---
born: 1914-03-29
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
died: 2014-08-05
location: Ambala, Punjab, British India
summary: Chapman Pincher was a British journalist known for his close ties to the
  British intelligence and nuclear communities.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

Chapman Pincher was a British journalist known for his close ties to the [British Intelligence](/organizations/british-intelligence/) and nuclear communities. In December 1960, he published a major story in the *London Daily Express* stating that "British and American intelligence authorities believe that the [Israelis](/places/israel/) are well on the way to building their first experimental nuclear bomb." Pincher had received a tip from a senior figure in British atomic weapons research and verified the story with a contact in [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/).[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 6.