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Project Condign (DEFE 24/2090)

Internet Archive (DocumentCloud mirror of Telegraph upload) · 160 pages · text by GLM-OCR

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.

  • p. 126 …unexplained RAF aircraft fatal accidents could have been caused by the pilot being startled by the…
  • p. 145 …Could DIS confirm a) that the chronological dates of enclosures in the DI55 file cover the…
  • p. 150 …The public have always been more interested in UFO/UAP issues than we in the MOD…
  • p. 151 …The public have always been more interested in UFO/UAP issues than we in the MOD…
  • p. 159 …I do appreciate the time and costs involved in preparing whole files for release, and the…

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

## DRAFT

## Dear Dr Clarke

Thank you for your e-mail dated 29th October. Please accept my apologies for the delay in sending you the information you are seeking. Most of this information is not held by this branch and I am therefore having to consult others about release, which is taking rather longer than I would wish. While I am not yet in a position to give you a full response, I can provide you with an update.

First with regard to your request for copies of the UAP Report, Volumes 1, 2 and 3, and the Summary. I have been advised that the study comprises 4 volumes (including the Executive Summary). These consist of the following approximate number of pages (some single sided, some double sided); Volume 1 (117 pages), Volume 2 (150 pages), Volume 3 (47 pages) and the Executive Summary (20 pages). The report examined UFO sighting reports from 1987 to 1997. The database was destroyed after the report was written, so it is not possible to say what fields it contained for UAP entries. It is likely that the sighting reports which formed the basis of the report are amongst the DIS files which are now subject to asbestos contamination. Defence Intelligence Staff are currently considering the release of the Report and Executive Summary and have indicated that it is likely that they will be able to release most of these papers. Given the number of individual papers for consideration this may take a while to complete, but we are hopeful that it might be possible to release the Executive Summary ahead of the Volumes, maybe as early as this week. I will, of course, keep you informed of any progress.

You also requested a copy of DI55/108/15/22 dated January 1997, D/DI55/108/15 dated 11 December 1996 and D/DI55/108/15 dated 16 November 1993. DIS staff have located copies of the first two documents and are currently considering release. They have been unable to locate a copy of the third document on their files.

In your letter of 1 September you asked us to reconsider our decision to delete a) previous security classifications and b) paragraph 3 from the DIST's letter of 4 December 2000. I should inform you that when we receive requests for information or copies of documents which were given security classifications when they were created, we first have to consider why the particular classification was applied and if it is still appropriate. If the information remains sensitive it is likely to be withheld under an exemption of the FOI Act. If not, the document can be downgraded to unclassified and the original classification is removed because it is no longer applicable. In this instance I can understand why you would be interested in the original security classification and I am able to confirm that it was given the classification of SECRET UK EYES ONLY. With regard to the paragraph 3 from DIST's letter of 4 December 2000 this was removed because it contains potentially sensitive information that is not relevant to your request. I have however,

Cases discussed

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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 160 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.