On January 9th I went to see David Cameron answer questions in North Shields. Mr. Cameron is holding regular events called “Cameron Direct”, where ordinary members of the public can pose any question they like to the Conservative leader.

Eventually I got my turn and asked him the following question,

“In July last year, the respected scientist and astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell, who was the sixth man to walk on the moon spoke on a British radio station. He said that the American government have had contact with extra-terrestrials on multiple occasions and that these were on going. He spoke about the Roswell event of 1947, where wreckage from a downed UFO was recovered and found to contain alien bodies. He said that this event was real and had been covered up by governments for many years. Do you agree with me David, that the British people have the right to know if we have been visited. And if so, when you become Prime Minister, as I know you will, will you seek to lift the veil of secrecy and tell the public the truth that they deserve, which has been covered up for all of these years.”

He was certainly not expecting this question and at first looked a little baffled. In his reply he started by making a joke, “I’m convinced we have been visited by alien life forms, and one of them is the trade secretary Peter Mandelson”. The audience laughed.

I stood up to protest at his making a joke of the subject and said, “I do not want anyone to take this subject lightly, it is a serious subject.”

When he realised I wasn’t laughing his tone changed and he attempted to answer the question,

“I have no idea whether there is intelligent life out there and no idea whether any sightings that have taken place or incidents that have taken place have any basis in truth. All I know is I do believe in freedom of information and openness, and if this question has been asked from time of governments in this country and indeed in the US, I think we should be as open and as clear as possible. What’s tended to happen when people look at the Roswell incident or people look at pictures and other things that have happened is a rational explanation tends to be produced to try and show that its not what those who believe in UFOs suggest. But I think we should be as open as possible so I would be quite happy to give you a guarantee that if I was Prime Minister I would always be entirely open and frank about these things. I do not think any of us have any clue whether there is any intelligent life out there, and it is certainly not something that any government should seek to hide from anybody”.

You can watch David Cameron’s answer and my protest at his joke online by logging on to www.richplanet.net.