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individuals to the MOD. I am more interested in studying the evolution of how the old<br />
Air Ministry, and later the MOD, dealt with these kind of inquiries, how policy on this<br />
subject was formulated, and how that policy has been influenced by specific incidents,<br />
Government policy, Parliamentary questions, scientific opinion and the media.<br />
To this end, I have found the material in the Defence Intelligence Staff registered files<br />
particularly of interest. Of the two files currently available at the PRO, DEFE 31/118<br />
(UFO policy 1953-63) and DEFE 31/119 (UFO Policy 1967) contain precisely the<br />
category of information I am seeking: for example internal memorandums, draft policy ·<br />
documents etc. <strong>The</strong>re is little, if any, correspondence from the public contained within<br />
these files which fall within Exemption 12 (Privacy) or the exemptions relating to<br />
national security. Further to this detail, I would like to apply for access to the sequence r·<br />
of files which follow DEFE 311119 and which presumably relate to UFO policy,<br />
between the years 1968 and 1981. This request relates to specific files, falling within a ;<br />
specified period of time, so you may feel it would be worthwhile employing a more<br />
focussed search to retrieve and scrutinise these papers on my behalf<br />
...... -. ~ i\<br />
\;t<br />
fu ternis of Air Staff files relating to .sight~gts ~ep~rted by -ihe general public, tbe 'One~-·- ,<br />
specific file I wish to view relates to UFO/unidentified aircraft sightings reported to the ~~<br />
MOD during the month of January 1974. Following the file sequence at the PRO I , ~~~- -:f<br />
suspect this file would be be found at the reference Air 20/12556 (Air 20/12555 relates ~~~<br />
to December 1973). ~ _ -~"'-•'L""'<br />
~ •v-<br />
I would also like to apply for access to a file produced by the Meteorological Office<br />
for the MOD, reference BJ 5/311 titled ''Unidentified Flying Objects: meteorological<br />
aspects" which relates to the period 1968-1970. This file is due to be opened at the<br />
PRO on 1 January 2001.<br />
From my research into historical files at the Public Record Office, I sus~t there may<br />
also be memoranda and reports relating to UFOs in the 1950s hidden witll}he Defence<br />
Intelligence Files, class numbers DEFE 44/1 and DEFE 21, and I have contacted the<br />
MOD Departmental Record Officer separately with a request for access to this<br />
material. DEFE 44 contains papers from as far back as 1946, but these remain<br />
classified because the file also contains material from 1991. I would like to request<br />
access to the block of files and memoranda which relate to the period 1946 to 1969,<br />
which should be available for scrutiny under the Freedom of Information Act.<br />
I hope you will feel it is possible to allow me to have access to at least some of the<br />
material specified in this letter, for use in what is a bona fide academic research<br />
programme. I would be happy to meet any reasonable costs incurred asa~t of this<br />
application, and would be willing to sign any undertakings related to Data Protection<br />
or Official Secrets which you might feel appropriate. In addition, I will be happy to<br />
provide the MOD with a copy of my completed research paper, which I plan to publish<br />
via the ~ational .C~for En~~h C~!~~~~n at ~~niv~_!~~ ·<br />
In making this request, I am simply responding to the Government's and the MOD' s<br />
· own stated manifesto pledge to "establish a general statutory right of access to official<br />
records and through culture change throughout the public sector" (MOD website).<br />
This laudable aim will only be seen to working in practise if reasonable requests for