What programs and topics appear in DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era)?

DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era) references Sec(AS)2, DAS 4a(Sec), D Info(Exp), UK MoD, Bonnybridge and Falkirk Triangle.

← Files

DISCLOSURE / FILE

DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era)

UK MoD Sec(AS) UFO desk file covering 1998–2000 correspondence on press handling, 30-year-rule file releases, and ministerial briefings around the Bonnybridge/Falkirk Triangle era.

Brief

DEFE 24/2006 is a Sec(AS)2 policy file collecting late-1990s and 2000 loose minutes, press lines, and newspaper cuttings about MoD's handling of UFO reports and the release of older files to the Public Record Office. The papers record roughly 230 sighting reports and 250 letters received in a recent year, the 1 January 2000 release of 13 1969 UFO files under the 30-year rule, and an October 2000 decision by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence not to grant a face-to-face press briefing. An 11 October 2000 fax from DAS 4a(Sec) flags that an entire run of 'UFO' volumes appears to have been sent for destruction in March 1990, and asks records staff to search for files up to and including number 17.

Metadata

Agency: UK Ministry of Defence / Sec(AS)
Release: 2010-08-05
Type: PDF • .pdf
Length: 235 pages
Classification: RESTRICTED - MANAGEMENT / UNCLASSIFIED (mixed)
Programs: Sec(AS)2, DAS 4a(Sec), D Info(Exp)
Tags: UK MoD, Bonnybridge, Falkirk Triangle, 30-year rule, press handling, 1999, 2000, Sec(AS)2, Nick Pope, file destruction

Key points

On 12 October 2000 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence declined to pursue a UFO-related enquiry and returned two files to Sec(AS).p.2
A Sec(AS)2 loose minute of 18 November 1999 recommends declining a Sunday Times request for a face-to-face ministerial briefing, offering an officials-only briefing instead.p.5
Sec(AS) notes that no previous Minister has granted a journalist a UFO interview and warns any such interview would be treated as a scoop by the press.p.6
Pre-1967 UFO files were destroyed after five years; since 1967 all UFO files have been preserved and routinely released to the PRO at the 30-year point.p.10
Thirteen 1969 UFO files were transferred to the Public Record Office for release on 1 January 2000.p.9
Sec(AS)2 received roughly 230 sighting reports and 250 letters in the year referenced, and runs a 24-hour answerphone for public reports.p.13
An 11 October 2000 fax from DAS 4a(Sec) reports that a run of UFO volumes appears to have been sent for destruction in March 1990 and asks records staff to check for files up to and including number 17.p.17
MoD's stated press line: there is no evidence the UK Air Defence Region is being breached by hostile foreign military activity, and no plans to change government UFO policy.p.10
Nick Pope is identified in MoD press lines as a former EO in Sec(AS)2 who left the branch in July 1994; views in his books and media appearances are described as entirely his own.p.10

Verbatim

There is no evidence to support the view that the UK Air Defence Region is being breached by hostile foreign military activity or anything else. There are no plans to change Government policy on 'UFOs'.
p.10
Prior to 1967 it was the case that 'UFO' files were destroyed after five years as there was insufficient interest in the subject to warrant their retention but since 1967 all 'UFO' files have been preserved and routinely released to the Public Record Office at the 30-year point.
p.10
Mr Pope was an EO in Sec(AS)2; he left the Branch in Jul 94. The views expressed by Mr Pope in books and the media are entirely his own.
p.10
I attach a list of files, all 'UFO' volumes, that appear to have been sent for destruction during March 1990.
p.17
A face-to-face briefing in any circumstances poses a significant risk. There will be no control over what cascades from it so far as the tabloids and specialist press are concerned.
p.6
Under the 30-year rule, a total of 13 'UFO' files from 1969 have been passed to the Public Record Office and will be released on 1 January 2000.

Most interesting

MoD's own internal record states UFO files were routinely destroyed after five years until 1967, when retention policy changed.
The 11 October 2000 fax flags that an entire numbered series of UFO volumes was sent for destruction in March 1990, and asks staff to look for files up to number 17.
Sec(AS)2 ran a 24-hour public answerphone for sighting reports, receiving roughly 230 reports and 250 letters in the year referenced.
MoD's press posture distances itself from Nick Pope by name, noting he left the branch in July 1994 and that his published views are his own.
The file shows ministers were advised to stop having their names repeated in MoD press lines to dampen tabloid interest in UFO file releases.

Cross-references

PDFDEFE 24/1959, MoD UFO Desk Reports 1981 (Rendlesham aftermath year)UK Ministry of Defence / Sec(AS)
PDFUFO Desk Closure Correspondence, DEFE 24/2453 (final tranche, June 2013)UK Ministry of Defence / Sec(AS)
PDFUFO Desk Final Records, DEFE 24/2465 (final tranche, June 2013)UK Ministry of Defence / Sec(AS)
PDFHowden Moor / Sheffield Incident, DEFE 24/1997 (March 1997 sonic boom and triangular craft reports)UK Ministry of Defence / Sec(AS)

Common questions

What is DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era)?: UK MoD Sec(AS) UFO desk file covering 1998–2000 correspondence on press handling, 30-year-rule file releases, and ministerial briefings around the Bonnybridge/Falkirk Triangle era.
What does DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era) reveal?: On 12 October 2000 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence declined to pursue a UFO-related enquiry and returned two files to Sec(AS). A Sec(AS)2 loose minute of 18 November 1999 recommends declining a Sunday Times request for a face-to-face ministerial briefing, offering an officials-only briefing instead. Sec(AS) notes that no previous…
Which agency produced DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era)?: DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era) is a primary-source record from UK Ministry of Defence / Sec(AS). Its original classification was RESTRICTED - MANAGEMENT / UNCLASSIFIED (mixed).
When is DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era) dated?: DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era) is dated 1998 to 2000. It was declassified 2010-08-05.
What programs and topics appear in DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era)?: DEFE 24/2006, MoD UFO Desk Reports c.1998–2000 (Bonnybridge / Falkirk Triangle era) references Sec(AS)2, DAS 4a(Sec), D Info(Exp), UK MoD, Bonnybridge and Falkirk Triangle.

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