§ The Earl of CLANCARTYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware that Monsieur Robert Galley, the then French Minister of Defence, in his radio interview on the France-Inter radio on 21st February 1974 stated that the gendarmerie are playing a very large part in official investigations into unidentified flying object sightings and alleged landings; and whether our police have been likewise officially 1348WA instructed to collect reports and investigate these unidentified flying objects.
§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICHThe Government have no knowledge of either the radio interview to which the Question refers, or the role played by thegendarmerie in investigating unidentified flying objects. The police in this country have not been asked to collect reports of, or investigate, unidentified flying objects. The jurisdiction and powers of the police are normally confined to terrestrial activities, but I have every confidence that should an occasion arise where there is evidence that an unidentified flying object has landed within a police area, the police force concerned will investigate it with its customary vigour. However, until there is some clear indication that the frequency of such occurrences is likely to impose a significant burden on the police, I doubt whether it would prove fruitful to issue guidance on this subject.