I sent a request to the MOD at the beginning of September for information relating to UFO cases between 2006 and 2007 and here is the reply I got from them.
Dear Mr Robertson,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 6 September 2007 asking for information relating to all UFO cases in Scotland for the period 2006-07.
First, it may be helpful if I explain that the Ministry of Defence examines any reports of ‘unidentified flying objects’ it receives solely to establish what was seen might have some defence significance; namely, whether there is any evidence that the United Kingdom’s airspace might have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised air activity.
Unless there is any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom from an external source, and to date no ‘UFO’ report has revealed such evidence, we do not attempt to identify the precise nature of each sighting reported to us.
We believe that rational explanations, such as aircraft lights or natural phenomena, could be found for them if resources were diverted for this purpose, but it is not the function of the MOD to provide this kind of aerial identification service. It would be an inappropriate use of defence resources if we were to do so.
Your request also refers to files relating to specific sighting reports. The MoD does not generally open separate files on individual incidents (and has not done so for any on the incidents you mention) but places all reports, regardless of geographical location, on the same file.
Information regarding sightings for 2006 and other UFO matters is readily available on the MoD website www.mod.uk and therefore under exemption s.21 (Information reasonably accessible by other means) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the MoD is not required to provide you the information you requested.
Details of the sightings for 2007 will be published on the MoD website in January 2008 and therefore are withheld under exemption s.22 (Information intended for future publication).
In the meantime, you may wish to be aware that there is some information about UFOs available for public viewing. MOD files were routinely destroyed after 5 years until 1967 when they were generally preserved for The National Archives.
A few have survived before 1967 and together with records up to 1977 are now available for public viewing. The National Archives can be contacted at Ruskin Avenue, Richmond, Kew, Surrey TW9 4DU or telephone, 020 8876 3444.
The National Archives also have a website giving information about the records they hold and how to access them. This can be found on the internet at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
If you are unhappy with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance. If informal resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review by contacting the Director of Information Exploitation, 6th Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail Info-XD@mod.uk).
Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an end.
If you remain unhappy following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate the case until the internal review process has been completed. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website,
http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk <http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/> ."
I am sorry I could not be of more assistance.
Paul Webb
DAS-FOI
05-H-13
MoD Main Building
London
SW1A 2HB
