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

This file contains correspondence and internal documentation from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) regarding various Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted between 2005 and 2006. The primary focus of the file is the MOD's handling of public inquiries concerning Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) or UFOs. A significant portion of the documentation details the investigation into a series of sightings reported on 5 October 1996 in the vicinity of The Wash, Lincolnshire. These sightings involved reports of multicoloured lights by police officers in Skegness and Boston, as well as radar plots tracked by various military and civilian radar stations. The MOD conducted a thorough investigation into these events, concluding that the radar returns were likely 'permanent echoes' caused by the spire of St Botolph's Church in Boston (known as the 'Boston Stump') and that the visual sightings were likely attributable to the planet Venus, which was exceptionally bright at the time. The file includes internal memoranda, draft responses to Members of Parliament (specifically Martin Redmond MP), and copies of press cuttings from the period. It also documents the MOD's policy regarding the destruction of older UFO files and the procedures for handling public correspondence. The file highlights the MOD's consistent stance that it does not investigate UFOs for the purpose of identifying extraterrestrial life, but rather to ensure that UK airspace is not compromised by hostile or unauthorized activity. The file also contains information regarding the 'Aerial Phenomena Enquiry Network' (APEN) and various other minor FOI requests concerning historical UFO incidents.