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This MoD file, titled UFOs - Persistent Correspondence - Dr David Clarke, holds Dr David Clarke's Freedom of Information requests and emails to the Directorate of Air Staff from 2005 to 2008. Clarke asked for the DI55 report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region and for Rendlesham papers. He also sought records about Nick Pope. Other items include an internal review that released redacted passages on plasmas, the MoD's statement that it had no report of the 2008 South Wales police helicopter sighting, and a 2009 disposal form.
“Works”36 pages
# DR CLARKE - SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS:
1. Would it be possible to correspond with and/or interview the author of the report? The report is an important and historically important document and from my point of view as a historian it is important to record aspects of its production for posterity. While I am aware of the sensitivity of the work of the DIS, I would point out that I have traced an interviewed a number of other former DIS employees who have been involved in UFO work on the understanding that my questions do not touch upon areas related to national security. I have undertaken to protect their identity and my work is for research purposes only, and will not be published without permission. The author of the UAP report is clearly someone with a longstanding knowledge of this subject dating back to the 1950s, who has an RAF background and has acted as an advisor on aspects of the topic for MoD for some time. When the report is in the public domain, there is little doubt that he will be traced by the media. Therefore would it not be better to have him speak to a sympathetic academic rather than door-stepped by a journalist? As I understand he may no longer work for MoD would it be possible to forward a letter to him on my behalf?
The author of the report was employed by the Ministry of Defence as a contractor and consultant until his departure in 2000. The author is now in retirement and, despite making enquiries, we have been unable to trace his whereabouts. It is therefore not possible to forward any correspondence to him.
2. Could we clear up the ambiguity surrounding the status of the 21 DI55 UFO files (see Attachment A). It is my understanding that a large proportion of these files (Pts 36-51, covering years 1987-1997) were utilised by the author of the report as a statistic sample in the UAP database. Your letter of 23 November 2005 suggests it is like these files "are amongst the DIS files which are now subject to asbestos contamination." However, as some of these files (those relating to policy) were later found to have escaped contamination, could DIS make another check so we can be certain as to the status of these outstanding files.
We have checked the files listed in attachment A to your email of 23 $ ^{rd} $ February 2006 and it is confirmed that all the files in the list (the files which were used in the compilation of the UAP report) are in the contaminated archives. However, the sighting reports would only have been copies of reports which DAS receive. The DAS sighting files have not been contaminated, but you should be aware that there are 20 paper files covering this period and we have no way of knowing which particular reports were used for the database.
3. Could we also establish the status of the UAP database. In what form did it exist (i.e. as a computer programme?) and has it definitely been destroyed? If so, why? Was it destroyed for any particular reason?
The UAP database was in the form of an 'Access' database. It is confirmed that the database has been destroyed, this was in accordance with the commercial and security procedures in place at the time. All hard copy extracts of the database have also been destroyed. Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 160 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.