by Tim Collins; Mailonline
A dossier of 18 MoD papers was due to be released in March this year
A German site has claimed that Brexit is to blame for the delay in publication
The files are expected to be made public after the UK general election in June
Details of a UFO sighting by military personnel in 1980 may be among them
A dossier of files kept secret by the UK government for almost 50 years could be released after June’s general election .
The documents will be published by the National Archives and are believed to contain details of sightings of UFOs over almost five decades.
And alien hunters are hoping they will reveal evidence of a cover-up of a number of high profile incidents they believe are related to extra-terrestrials, including in Rendlesham Forest in 1980, dubbed ‘Britain’s Roswell.’
THE PAPERS
The National Archives has previously released huge swathes of material gathered by the Ministry of Defence.
The files still to be published are believed to date from 1971-76, 1996-2000 and 2004.
The papers were originally meant to be released in 2013 alongside thousands of others which did see the light of day, but 18 specific documents were withheld.
The latest publication date was set for March this year, but this passed by with no news forthcoming.
But German paranormal news website Grenzwissenschaft-aktuell reported on Friday this delay was down to Brexit.
The National Archives has previously released huge swathes of material gathered by the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) UFO Desk, thought to number in the thousands.
The files still to be published are believed to date from 1971-76, 1996-2000 and 2004.
The papers were originally meant to be released in 2013 alongside thousands of others which did see the light of day, but 18 specific documents were withheld.
This prompted claims of a conspiracy to cover-up the existence of alien life among some theorists and another delay in publication last year added to this speculation.
The latest publication date was set for March this year, but this delay passed by with no news forthcoming.
But German paranormal news website Grenzwissenschaft-aktuell reported on Friday this was down to Brexit.
A spokesman for National Archives reportedly told the site: ‘Due the upcoming election here in the UK and the rules relating to government departments during the pre-election period, the files will not be released until after the election.
‘We are working to ensure that the files are ready for release as soon after this period as is possible, hopefully around the middle of June.’
Conspiracy theorists are hoping the files may shed light on the notorious Rendlesham Forest incident in 1980, dubbed Britain’s Roswell.
Strange lights were reported by servicemen in the forest near RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge.
The disputed sightings, over three nights between December 26-28, occurred when Britain and the West were on high alert during the Cold War.
But not everyone is convinced that the documents will prove to be the smoking gun alien hunters are hoping for.
In an email to MailOnline Nick Pope, who worked for the MoD investigating UFO sightings until 2009, said: ‘There’s no smoking gun in these files that will confirm the existence of aliens, but there are plenty of fascinating UFO reports and MoD policy documents, so these really are the real life X-Files.
‘The delay has been a comedy of errors though, I think it’s more bureaucracy than conspiracy.
‘I understand the frustration of people who were expecting these files to be released by now.’
Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual, told MailOnline: ‘Getting the majority of the documents into the public domain was a slow process, which was mainly due to the efforts of Dr David Clarke, Prinicipal Research Fellow at Sheffield Hallam University.
‘I’m reliably informed that these remaining files contain duplicates of documents already made available to the public.
‘It seems very unlikely they will contain anything like the type of evidence UFO supporters yearn for, like crashed saucers or interviews with aliens.’
THE RENDLESHAM FOREST INCIDENT: BRITAIN’S ROSWELL
Strange lights were reported by servicemen in the forest near RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge.
The incident came to be known as ‘Britain’s Roswell’ after the UFO sightings in New Mexico.
Soldiers investigated what the lights were, including Staff Sgt Jim Burroughs, Airman First Class Edward Cabansag and Airman First Class Larry Warren.
The disputed sightings, over three nights between December 26-28, occurred when Britain and the West were on high alert during the Cold War.
Retired US Air Force officer Steve Longero broke a 36 year silence, in December 2016, to reveal he also saw something in the night sky.
Mr Longero said the UFOs looked like red and green fluorescent lights hovering over treetops.
He also dismissed one theory that the lights had been caused by a lighthouse.
The incident became a topic of fascination in the UK after a group of servicemen went into Rendlesham Forest to investigate the mysterious lights and came out convinced they had seen seen an alien spacecraft.
The Suffolk sightings resurfaced claims from those living in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947 when an unexpected crash was alleged to have been the remains of a spacecraft and alien bodies.
But this was rejected by the U.S. military following a close investigation into the wreckage.
The British Ministry of Defence has also dismissed the claims regarding Rendlesham.
It said there was no threat to national security and the UFOs were likely to be caused by a series of nocturnal lights.