MOD file DEFE 24/2032/1

which are received in HOD ~re referred to
.· ~esponsible for our Air defences to make sure that
on the security of the country. No conVincing
"'~~..~.·\A.................. has ·emerged to date that UFOs actually exist· or }fave defence
ons. Many reports turn out to have commonplace explanations,
common being aircraft or aircraft lights seen under unusual
conditions. The cause of some sightings has not been positively
identified but the reports often lack essential detail. We have
recently reviewed our policy on UFOs with Head of DI 54, who confirm
that it is reasonable to confine our enquiries to the defence
implications and that the exclusion of any investigation beyond this
for MOD is not considered justified.
6. There has been a series of articles on UFOs in the Daily Express
recently, although these seem to be linked with publicity for the multi
million pound commercial film iiClose Encounters of the Third Kind 11
which is shortly to be released. The Eve:1ing Ne\·Ts of 23 February 1978
car1"'ied a report about lights which :follmred a young housewife home
adding that "The Earl of Clancarty, a UFO expert, believes the lights
may have ..been those of a spacecraft sent to spy on us by an unkr..own
civilisation from another planet. • •••• He is currently tryine to
get a House of Lords debate on UFOs and w8.nts an international
investigation". This intention has been documented in the 'No Day
Named' section of the Lords• Order Paper for 28 Febr~ary.
7. The book, ttThe Crack in the Universe 1' which the Earl of Clancarty
referred t0 in his question of 14 December 1977 contains an oocurate
translation of r.r Robert Galley's broadcast in 1974. It also
introduces the transcript quite fairly (on page 75) as an interview
which gave the Ydnister the opportunity to declare that "there are
phenomena lvhich are unexplained". The blurb on the dust cover,
however,. bas N Galley freely admitting that UFOs exist and that they
are a serious problem.
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