UFOs don't exist, say MoD

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May. 07, 2006

There is no evidence for the existence of alien life forms, according to a secret report by the Ministry of Defence.

The four-year study on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) was completed in 2000 and stamped 'Secret: UK Eyes Only', but it has just been made public.

Most UFO sightings could be explained by atmospheric phenomena, the MoD said.

Glowing "plasmas" of gas, which are created by charges of electricity, can appear to fly at great speeds through the sky when air flows around them in a certain way.

"No evidence exists to suggest that the phenomena seen are hostile or under any type of control, other than that of natural physical forces," the report said.

"There is no evidence that 'solid' objects exist which could cause a collision hazard."

The findings were only released after a request under the Freedom of Information Act by Sheffield Hallam University academic Dr David Clarke.

The report did not brand those people who thought they had spotted UFOs as hoaxers and fantasists, but said they may have been suffering from "extended memory retention and repeat experiences" caused by the plasmas.

"Local fields of this type have been medically proven to cause responses in the temporal lobes of the human brain," the report said.

"These result in the observer sustaining his or her own vivid, but mainly incorrect, description of what is experienced."

An MoD spokesperson said: "It is unlikely that we would carry out any future studies unless such evidence were to emerge."