Dr David Clarke, author of ‘The UFO Files’ and senior lecturer in Journalism at Sheffield Hallam University, reveals the importance of the latest batch of UFO files to be released by The National Archives. The 35 files cover the years 2000-2005 and contain over 8,500 pages of UFO sightings and reports, colour photographs and drawings, RAF investigations, unusual radar detections, parliamentary briefings, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and - for the first time - documents on the government’s policy on UFOs. Dr Clarke highlights some of the files’ most interesting revelations, including how the UFO phenomenon was discussed at the highest level of government and Security Services worldwide including at the United Nations, and how the introduction of the FOI Act led to the MoD opening the UFO files up to the public for the first time in history.
The National Archives is the UK governments official archive. Our main duties are to preserve government records and to set standards in information management and re-use.