Ministry of Defence File: Information Management - The Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Requests for Information

This document is a Ministry of Defence (MOD) file jacket (D/DAS/10/2/8/13) containing correspondence and internal documentation regarding Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted to the MOD between 2005 and 2007. The file primarily documents the MOD's responses to public inquiries about UFO sightings, historical UFO-related incidents, and the department's policy on the subject. The correspondence reveals that the MOD consistently maintained that it had no specific expertise or role in investigating UFOs, and that its interest was limited to determining if reported sightings indicated a breach of UK airspace by hostile military activity. The file includes internal minutes and drafts of responses to parliamentary questions and public inquiries, reflecting the MOD's efforts to manage the influx of FOI requests following the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Key topics addressed in the correspondence include the 1979 House of Lords debate on UFOs initiated by Lord Clancarty, the status of historical records (such as those from the Flying Saucer Working Party and Project Blue Book), and the MOD's stance on the French GEPAN unit and Grenada's UN initiatives. The file also contains documentation regarding specific alleged incidents, such as the 1969 USAF C-130 crash off Brighton and various sightings in the 1960s and 1970s. The MOD's consistent position, as articulated in these documents, was that there was no evidence of extra-terrestrial visitation and that most reports were attributable to natural phenomena, aircraft, or space debris. The file also documents the administrative burden of managing these requests and the MOD's policy regarding the destruction of older UFO files.