| UFOs: the (boring) truth is out there - Stories such as the Michael Howard UFO report are entertaining – but the MoD archives sadly explode the 'X-Files' myths The Guardian Thursday 18 February, 2010 |
Nick Pope guardian.co.uk, Thursday 18
February 2010 10.35 GMT Article
February 2010 10.35 GMT Article
The MoD has released files on UFO sightings covering the period
1994-2000. Photograph: Getty
1994-2000. Photograph: Getty
There's an old saying that the best place to hide a book is in a library. The latest Ministry of
Defence UFO files released to the National Archives contain more than 6,000 pages of
documentation, so if there was a memo somewhere in there saying the MoD had a crashed
spaceship hidden away in an RAF hangar somewhere, it might not be found.
Before I start all manner of conspiracy theories with that remark, however, I should say that
there is no such memo and no such spaceship – and I say that as someone who spent three
years of my 21-year MoD career working on this issue.
This is the fifth batch of UFO files to be made available and is part of an ongoing three-year
programme to release the entire archive. The decision to release the files was taken in 2007,
to deal with the administrative burden of responding to requests made under the Freedom of
Information Act. At one time, MoD was receiving more FOI requests on UFOs than on any
other subject. (These details are disputed by researcher Andrew Russell - HERE )
The newly released files cover the period 1994 to 2000. It's interesting to note that the cult TV
series The X-Files was at the height of its popularity at this time. Might this have influenced
people making UFO reports?
I'm sceptical about the link between science fiction and UFO sightings. While the popularity of
The X-Files might make some people speculate about aliens and government cover-ups,
there's no evidence to suggest that sci-fi films and TV shows influence people's perceptions of
anything strange that they see. Given the current stratospheric popularity of the blockbuster
movie Avatar, if people were being influenced by sci-fi in the way suggested, we'd be
inundated with reports of people seeing blue aliens. We're not!
So, how do the MoD's real-life Mulders and Scullys compare to their fictional counterparts?
Having done the job myself, from 1991 to 1994, I'm sorry to have to report that it's not quite as
glamorous as people might suspect. There's no running around dark warehouses with guns
and torches. It's more a case of asking colleagues in the RAF to check the radar tapes and
writing polite letters back to members of the public, stating that most UFOs turn out to be
misidentifications of ordinary objects and phenomena.
For those with the patience to wade through 6,000 pages of documents, it's a mixed bag.
There's a great deal of mundane correspondence between the MoD and the public, together
with a vast number of UFO sightings which are clearly aircraft lights, satellites or meteors. But
there is some more interesting material.
As well as today's news story regarding the sighting of a large, triangular "humming" object in
the sky above Michael Howard's Folkestone home, other examples include the UFO seen by a
police officer over the ground of Chelsea FC, and the air traffic controller at Prestwick who
tracked an uncorrelated target on radar, travelling at phenomenal speed. Most disturbing,
however, is the incident that occurred on 6 January 1995, when a Boeing 737 on approach to
Manchester airport nearly collided with a delta-shaped UFO. The pilot and first officer both
witnessed this and made an official report. Neither the MoD nor the Civil Aviation Authority
could find any explanation.
As one reads the files, one can sense the MoD's growing irritation with the subject – an
irritation that arguably culminated on 1 December 2009 when the MoD finally disengaged
altogether and announced that they would no longer be investigating UFO sightings reported
by the public. Some of the files are entitled "persistent correspondent". This is a coded way of
saying "this person is becoming a nuisance". As will be seen in future file releases – the last
files won't be released until 2011 – this frustration boiled over when the Freedom of
Information Act came fully into force.
Another sign of the MoD's "corporate irritation" with the subject is revealed in the response to
somebody who claimed to have been kidnapped by aliens (it's not just UFOs; these real-life X-
Files include material on other mysteries such as alien abductions and crop circles). The
person concerned had written to ask about MoD policy on alien abductions and pointed out
that if the experience was real, the MoD was failing to maintain the territorial integrity of UK
airspace – a core defence mission. After explaining the MoD's role with respect to UFOs, the
somewhat sniffy response stated: "Abduction is a criminal offence and as such is a matter for
the civil police."
This conjures up the bizarre thought of a flying saucer landed on the side of a road, with a
bemused constable leaning through the entrance hatch saying, "Excuse me sir, have you any
idea how fast you were going?"
Colin Andrews takes issue with the official Government report published by Nick Pope.
Nick Pope's website.
Defence UFO files released to the National Archives contain more than 6,000 pages of
documentation, so if there was a memo somewhere in there saying the MoD had a crashed
spaceship hidden away in an RAF hangar somewhere, it might not be found.
Before I start all manner of conspiracy theories with that remark, however, I should say that
there is no such memo and no such spaceship – and I say that as someone who spent three
years of my 21-year MoD career working on this issue.
This is the fifth batch of UFO files to be made available and is part of an ongoing three-year
programme to release the entire archive. The decision to release the files was taken in 2007,
to deal with the administrative burden of responding to requests made under the Freedom of
Information Act. At one time, MoD was receiving more FOI requests on UFOs than on any
other subject. (These details are disputed by researcher Andrew Russell - HERE )
The newly released files cover the period 1994 to 2000. It's interesting to note that the cult TV
series The X-Files was at the height of its popularity at this time. Might this have influenced
people making UFO reports?
I'm sceptical about the link between science fiction and UFO sightings. While the popularity of
The X-Files might make some people speculate about aliens and government cover-ups,
there's no evidence to suggest that sci-fi films and TV shows influence people's perceptions of
anything strange that they see. Given the current stratospheric popularity of the blockbuster
movie Avatar, if people were being influenced by sci-fi in the way suggested, we'd be
inundated with reports of people seeing blue aliens. We're not!
So, how do the MoD's real-life Mulders and Scullys compare to their fictional counterparts?
Having done the job myself, from 1991 to 1994, I'm sorry to have to report that it's not quite as
glamorous as people might suspect. There's no running around dark warehouses with guns
and torches. It's more a case of asking colleagues in the RAF to check the radar tapes and
writing polite letters back to members of the public, stating that most UFOs turn out to be
misidentifications of ordinary objects and phenomena.
For those with the patience to wade through 6,000 pages of documents, it's a mixed bag.
There's a great deal of mundane correspondence between the MoD and the public, together
with a vast number of UFO sightings which are clearly aircraft lights, satellites or meteors. But
there is some more interesting material.
As well as today's news story regarding the sighting of a large, triangular "humming" object in
the sky above Michael Howard's Folkestone home, other examples include the UFO seen by a
police officer over the ground of Chelsea FC, and the air traffic controller at Prestwick who
tracked an uncorrelated target on radar, travelling at phenomenal speed. Most disturbing,
however, is the incident that occurred on 6 January 1995, when a Boeing 737 on approach to
Manchester airport nearly collided with a delta-shaped UFO. The pilot and first officer both
witnessed this and made an official report. Neither the MoD nor the Civil Aviation Authority
could find any explanation.
As one reads the files, one can sense the MoD's growing irritation with the subject – an
irritation that arguably culminated on 1 December 2009 when the MoD finally disengaged
altogether and announced that they would no longer be investigating UFO sightings reported
by the public. Some of the files are entitled "persistent correspondent". This is a coded way of
saying "this person is becoming a nuisance". As will be seen in future file releases – the last
files won't be released until 2011 – this frustration boiled over when the Freedom of
Information Act came fully into force.
Another sign of the MoD's "corporate irritation" with the subject is revealed in the response to
somebody who claimed to have been kidnapped by aliens (it's not just UFOs; these real-life X-
Files include material on other mysteries such as alien abductions and crop circles). The
person concerned had written to ask about MoD policy on alien abductions and pointed out
that if the experience was real, the MoD was failing to maintain the territorial integrity of UK
airspace – a core defence mission. After explaining the MoD's role with respect to UFOs, the
somewhat sniffy response stated: "Abduction is a criminal offence and as such is a matter for
the civil police."
This conjures up the bizarre thought of a flying saucer landed on the side of a road, with a
bemused constable leaning through the entrance hatch saying, "Excuse me sir, have you any
idea how fast you were going?"
Colin Andrews takes issue with the official Government report published by Nick Pope.
Nick Pope's website.
Colin with Nick Pope, former head of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence
UFO Project after being presented with special awards at the X-Conference in
Washington D.C. 2009. Nick and Colin presented different sides of the Official
U.K. position surrounding the crop circles and UFO subject's. Copyright William
Corbin 2009.
UFO Project after being presented with special awards at the X-Conference in
Washington D.C. 2009. Nick and Colin presented different sides of the Official
U.K. position surrounding the crop circles and UFO subject's. Copyright William
Corbin 2009.
Colin's Presentation at the Washington D.C. Expopolitics - Paradigm Research Group Conference.
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| The MoD explanation why they closed the UFO desk is challenged by |