MYSTERY WIRE – Earlier this week the House of Lords of the United Kingdom held a debate over the new US UFO report released two weeks ago.

During the debate, members of Parliament were able to question Annabel Goldie, also known as Baroness Goldie, who has been the Minister of Defense since 2019.

Baroness Goldie told the Lords the MOD (Ministry of Defense) has no plans to publish a similar type of UFO report as the United States.

Below you can read the transcript.

Baron Sarfraz 
I beg leave to ask the question of sending in my name on the order paper.

Unknown Speaker 
I call the Minister Baroness Goldie.

Baroness Goldie
My Lords the Ministry of Defense notes the content of the report. The department holds no reports and unidentified aerial phenomena, but constantly monitors UK airspace to identify and respond to any credible threat to its integrity and is confident in the existing measures in place to protect it

Unknown Speaker
Lord Sarfraz.

Baron Sarfraz 
My lords. For decades, people who have been concerned with UFOs have been dismissed as fantasists. But now the US Director of National Intelligence who oversees 17 intelligence agencies has published a report saying the data on UFOs is inconclusive. The report offers several possible explanations and does not rule out that these could be military aircraft with very advanced capabilities, or even Extra Terrestrial phenomena. Either way, can my noble friend the Minister reassure members of the public that the Ministry of Defense takes reports of unidentified objects in our airspace very seriously? And will she consider publishing a detailed assessment of the data we hold?

Baroness Goldie 
What I would say to my noble friend is that the MOD deals with actual threats substantiated by evidence, and the government continues to take any potential threat to the UK seriously. The integrated review and the defense white command paper published in March set out the mo DS assessment of the threats we face and how we will meet them.

Unknown Speaker 
My Lords, unidentified does not mean suspicious. And does my noble friend the minister recognize that the US report referred to says there is no clear indication that there is any non terrestrial explanation for the 144 sightings that it specifies? And the idea that in an era of mobile phone cameras, drones, and frequent travel, there could possibly be alien spaceships whizzing about undetected in our atmosphere on a regular basis is not I think very plausible. It’s much more likely that these blurred images of boring explanations are lost. Does my noble friend agree?

Baroness Goldie   
I think the important points on which I wish to reassure your Lordships is that the UK air defense community detect and monitor all flying air systems 24 hours a day to provide an identified air picture as part of the UK national security posture and our commitment to the integrity of NATO airspace. Now that is supported by typhoon aircraft RF Lossiemouth and RF Coningsby. They’re held at high readiness ready to intercept any threat to UK airspace.

Lord Browne of Ladyton
In 2008, the MOD began the process of releasing all the UFO files, and in 2009 So Bob Ainsworth, the Secretary of State accepted advice which I read short that in more than 50 years, new UFO sighting has indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK, there is no defense benefit in recording, collecting, analyzing or investigating UFO sightings. And the level of resources devoted to this task is diverting staff for more valuable defense related activities. And he closed the relevant unit. Does the US report reveal any evidence or contain any reason to review that advice?

Baroness Goldie
I simply say to the noble Lord and seek to reassure us that as I’ve indicated, we deal with actual threats substantiated by evidence. He’s quite right about the closure of the UFO desk in 2009. I can confirm the department holds no reports on unidentified aerial phenomena, and all relevant material created and held by the UFO days has been passed to the National Archives.

Lord Holmes of Richmond 
A lot turning to identifiable flying objects with my neighbor friend agree that the UK has a tremendous opportunity to develop its new space industry, not least in low Earth orbit in terms of the bill development, launch, Operation recovery Rebuild of small satellites for both positive purpose defense and civil opportunities.

Baroness Goldie   
My noble friend makes a very important point with which I entirely agree and that is clearly an area of exciting and future development for the UK Government.

Unknown Speaker   
I cannot say to the Minister given the subject it’s very reassuring to see her here physically and not beamed in, so, the Pentagon have said that unidentified aerial phenomena are actually a serious national security threat. So notwithstanding what she’s just said, Does she agree with that US analysis the Pentagon’s analysis of the threat from unidentified aerial phenomena and they Is the UK is suffering from a similar threat that the US has itself identified? And given that the MOD has abandoned the UFO desk in 2009? Where are such sightings to be reported? And who to? The truth is out there, Minister, and hopefully it’ll be in your answer as well.

Baroness Goldie
This chamber on all occasions, and what I would say to the noble Lord is, again, the underlying important point is the security of our air space. And I’ve already indicated how we address that potential threat, and how we are well sustained and well provided to deal with any such potential threat. But we regard threats as having to exist in the first place. We regard them as having to be substantiated by evidence. And that’s because we need to know what it is we are addressing and how best we can address it. We, of course are aware of the US assessment, I would just say to the noble Lord that the MOD has no plans to conduct its own report into UAP because in over 50 years no such reporting had indicated the existence of any military threat to the United Kingdom.

Unknown Speaker   
Baroness Wilcox of Newport

Baroness Wilcox of Newport  
The recent report from the United States Task Force dedicated to investigating UFOs has neither confirmed nor rejected. The idea is that such sightings could indicate alien visits to Earth. I believe that Cardiff Bay is the alleged location of the Torchwood Institute, set up to deal with incidents of extraterrestrials. And indeed, the Anto Jones shrine forms part of the tourist trail at Mermaid Key. So seven decades after unidentified aerial phenomena first appeared on the radar, defense ministries around the world ought to know what they are. The recent report doesn’t require us to accept the reality of alien visitation, but it does require us to take UFO seriously. Therefore, how seriously does Her Majesty’s Government now take UFOs in the light of this report?

Baroness Goldie  
I refer the noble lady to my previous answers to which the short response is very seriously in relation to addressing threats with these threats are identifiable and can be substantiated.

Unknown Speaker 
But…

Unknown Speaker
Is the ministry aware of the role of one of the largest single dish telescopes in the southern hemisphere in parks New South Wales are placed my birth played in transmitting the TV footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and more recently, in tracking NASA’s Curiosity rover, during its descent over the surface of Mars in 2012, and might be of assistance to the government in helping to modify, monitor and assess any unidentified sightings.

Baroness Goldie  
I will say to my noble friend that the MOD and particularly our air defense community has bought sophisticated electronics events. And I myself has witnessed how this operates when I visited RF Coningsby and then there is the added support of visual identification if that is thought to be necessary by alerting a rapid reaction from our typhoons and they are able to take on a visual inspection if there is any doubt about the nature or character of an alleged threat.

Unknown Speaker  
My Lord, I welcome the opportunity to read the report and frankness with which it is written. Can I ask the noble Lord the minister has his contents yet been raised by Her Majesty’s Government with representatives of the United States government? The minister has said that Her Majesty’s Government have no reports on this matter. But given the interest is generated around the world, and indeed perhaps other words, don’t realize these government NIH have plans to produce a similar document summarizing any recent UAP or UFO sightings within UK borders and overseas territories.

Baroness Goldie 
Well, as I indicated earlier, we have no opinion on the existence of extraterrestrial life and we no longer investigate reports of sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena. And we have no plans to conduct our own report into UAP because in over 50 years, no such reporting has indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK.