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From:<br />
Secretariat (Air Staff)2<br />
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE<br />
Room 8247, Main Building, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2HB<br />
Telephone<br />
(Direct dial)<br />
(Switchboard)<br />
(Fax)<br />
020 7218 2140<br />
020 7218 0000<br />
:scas: : as:<br />
Dr David Clarke<br />
Your Reference<br />
Our Reference A<br />
D/Sec(AS )164/3 .r<br />
Date<br />
23 August 2000<br />
__,.<br />
Thank you for your further letter of 11 August setting out in more detail the files you wish<br />
to access.<br />
Rather than answering each one of your letters separately, we feel that you will get a<br />
quicker and more complete answer if we can provide you with a single consolidated response that<br />
addresses all the outstanding requests you have made to MOD for 'UFO' -related information. I<br />
note that in your letter of 1 August you say that you have contacted the MOD Record Officer<br />
seeking access to files. It would be helpful if you could let me know of any requests you have<br />
made to other parts of MOD (in London or elsewhere), so that these can also be covered in our<br />
substantive reply.<br />
In the meantime, we are progressing your letters to Sec(AS)2 of 1 and 11 August and to<br />
the MOD Records Officer of 21 July and 7 August. This will, however, take some time in view<br />
of the fact that the many flies requested will need to be retrieved and reviewed. It will involve a<br />
considerable amount of staff time which will have to be fitted in around core Defence tasks. I<br />
hope, however, to be able to provide you with a progress report by the end of September.<br />
I would also like to address some of the points that you raised in your letter of 1 August.<br />
You ask whether individuals contacting the Department have requested that their personal details<br />
remain confidential for the 30-year period I think you may have misunderstood the position. It is<br />
not a requirement that individuals should make that request. MOD has an obligation, both in<br />
common law and as an employer, to protect the confidentiality of its current and former<br />
employees and third parties. This obligation may only be overridden by consent, where there is<br />
an overriding public interest, or where statutory law (eg the Public Records Act) allows. It is for<br />
this reason that all personal identifying details of members of the public must be deleted before<br />
third party access is given to any information held on Departmental files. I should wish to assure<br />
you that MOD does not, as a matter of policy, release personal details to the media when<br />
contacted about alleged 'UFO' sightings. Rather, it is our experience that some members of the<br />
public seek actively to promote their alleged experiences through the media.<br />
You again mention in your letter of 1 August a conversation at the beginning of the year<br />
with the MOD Press Office. ~said in her letter of25 July, a number of enquiries<br />
were made to MOD by the media and members of the public about 'UFO' files being released at
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