Documents / Document

MOD file DEFE 24/2032/1

The Black Vault · 492 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Ministry of Defence file, released through The National Archives and published by The Black Vault, holds the MOD's 2002 handling of Dr David Clarke's requests for UFO documents under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. It includes the MOD's 9 December 2002 reply, which covered reports from 1976, 1980, 1993 and 1996 and charged £260. It also contains internal emails and file requisitions, plus Foreign Office and United Nations papers from 1978 on Grenada's proposal for UFO research.

  • p. 13 …the neighbourhood and might also have plant life and other materials which would be of interest…
  • p. 16 …SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION IHTO EXTRATERR£STRIAL LIFE, INCLUDI~G UNIDENTIFIED FLY lNG OBJECTS, AND TO…
  • p. 42 …Cor,1mander Even if one accepts that there may be life Robert McLaughiin, United States Navy…
  • p. 44 …Mars, by saying: " The hope of finding life on Mars has evaporated, together with the canals…
  • p. 47 …Is the earth the only planet populated by intelligent technological life? I do not know and…
  • p. 51 …to be compatible wirh any form of life. Thus, from \vhence do t11ey come? They can…
  • p. 52 …or rott>ntiai horrors of our esrthly life. Vihe:1 we bclic\'ed that if we…
  • p. 56 …Tbeir motive power would be of huge help to our transport and industrial life, for they…
  • p. 57 …Na a child, I form with This prese initiating gel me in Having r life and…
  • p. 58 …Having remembered the rebuke all my life and acted upon it, I am not prepared to…
  • p. 96 …We sometimes take the line: 'The MOD does not dismiss the possibility that intelligent life could…
  • p. 100 …the infirm and the lonely, for whom ·life .without the· broadcasting services would indeed be a…
  • p. 136 …do not dismiss the possibility that intelligent life could exist in O)..l.ther space bu…
  • p. 142 …We sometimes take the line: 'The :r;roD does not dismiss the possibility that intelligent life…
  • p. 145 …the infirm and the lonely, for whom ·life without the· broadcasting services would indeed be a…
  • p. 182 …do not dismiss the possibility that intelligent life could exist· in O"J.tther space but…
  • p. 187 …in~eJligent life could exist elsewhere in the universe. With 100,000 million stars in our…
  • p. 209 …intelligent life could exist else,-There in the- _, universe. \•lith 100,000 million stars in our…
  • p. 452 …level scientific research and investigation into extraterrestrial life, including UFOs and to inform the Secretary-General…
D/S4 (Air) /8/3
DI55 - Mr --../
Ops(GE)2b(RAFL::::
Copy tp: ACS(G)(RAF)
!REDACTION ON ORIGINAL DOCUMENT I
UFOs - DEBATE IN THE LORDS
I enclose a first draft of a proposed concluding speech
~or Lord Strabolgi in the Lords'' debate.
2. The draft tries to take account of the points made to us
on Thursday by Lord Strabolgi. However, on starting to re-
read the Earl of Clancarty•s book 'MYsterious Visitors• I
have appreciated more fully how heavily the Earl has hedged
his bets about space travel: indeed he suggests that the 'sky I
people' are 'paranormal' and come from •another space/time ll
dimension•. I do not recommend trying to track the Earl through
other dimensions, and suggest we stick to the bare essentials !
that we proposed to Lord Strabolg:t ·- that there are pl.enty of i
phenomena, that there are perfectly sensible explanations for !
them, and that the explanations offered by ufology are unn'bessary and i
prove idiotic under critical examination.
3. I would be grateful for any recent recorded cases to cover
the parts of para 6; otherwise I shall draw on the Condon Report
and Klase (the anti-UFO investigator).
4. Clancarty is likely to produce some •documented ~:and fully
authentica~ cases•. I would like to be able to demolish one
as an illus~on. I have provisionally chosen the disappearance
of the Norf'olk Battalion at Gallipoli, which Clancartry quotes
in one of his books: Hd of Army Historical Branch says that this
is a 'regular', about which the facts can be produced.
5. I would be grateful fer comments, criticisms and additional
arguments or cases. At this stage I am particularly anxious to
know whether you agree to the main line of arguments. Because
time is short I would be grateful for telephone comments.
6. The present draft'is about 2,000 words, around 15 minutes.
7. I have copied this minute to ACS(G)(RAF), and I be
grateful for his comments on the general line of
18 December 1978

Cases discussed

About this file

Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 492 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.