A lack of resources and “higher priorities” meant that the Ministry of Defence did not carry out a thorough study of thousands UFO sightings in Britain since WWII.
The UK’s latest crop of X-Files were released by the government today, covering reported sightings of UFOs from 1985 to 2007. They include a memo from 1995 from a wing commander in the intelligence branch responsible for investigating UFO reports.
The author of the note said there was an intelligence interest in extra-terrestrials, but that the branch lacked funds and had more important priorities than fully investigating sightings.
UFO sightings have been reported widely in the press, with witnesses who photographed them maintaining their authenticity.
Aliens spotted above BBC in west London
A secret report made in 2000 said UFOs did not pose a threat, which led to the closure of the MoD’s UFO branch in 2009.
It said: "sightings can be explained as mis-reporting of man-made vehicles, natural but not unusual phenomena and natural but relatively rare and not completely understood phenomena".
The files also document the claim of a family in East Dulwich, that they were visited by aliens called Mork and Mindy.
The files can be downloaded from the National Archives website for free for the next month.
