Britain should follow America’s lead and create its own UFO taskforce to investigate potential extraterrestrial sightings, experts have said.

They accused the UK Government of failing to take the issue seriously enough and warned that it could have serious implications for the country’s defence capabilities.

Nick Pope, who investigated UFOs for the British military in the 1990s before the unit was disbanded, said it was ‘outrageous’ that ministers are not taking ‘meaningful action’ to probe unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) — more commonly known as unidentified flying objects.

‘The Ministry of Defence (MoD) needs to restart UAP investigations, a task force of some sort needs to be set up, and the Defence Committee needs to start holding the MoD to account on UAP, as the Armed Services Committees are doing in the US Congress, in both the Senate and the House,’ he told MailOnline.

Mr Pope accused defence officials of ‘falling back on a lazy, closed-minded “it can’t be, so it isn’t” mindset’, meaning potential foreign threats to UK shores could be missed.

The MoD closed its UFO desk in 2009 and nothing has ever replaced it.

Prior to this, it carried out what at the time was a highly-secretive and extensive UFO investigation of more than 10,000 possible sightings over several decades — many of which were by military personnel.

Known as the Project Condign report, it concluded that 80 per cent of the sightings were easily explained, 19 per cent were secret military craft and just 1 per cent were mysterious in origin.

However, the MoD accepted that there are always going to be UAP and that those which are unexplained are likely an ‘an unknown kind of plasma’ and not of concern. 

‘The MoD has consistently stated that no UFO/UAP sighting has ever shown a threat to the UK, therefore they are of no defence significance and as a result the MoD is not interested,’ said Philip Mantle, the former director of investigations at the British UFO Research Association.

He told MailOnline that for this reason it would be ‘pointless’ to set up a UFO taskforce.

‘The MoD are not interested and science in general usually gives the subject a wide berth,’ Mr Mantle added.

‘One thing that is clear, however, is that the UFO phenomenon, whatever it may be, does not recognise any international borders, therefore any such study surely must be international in scope rather than national.’

In the US, NASA last week released its highly-anticipated report into more than 800 potential alien sightings over a period of three decades.

The space agency’s independent panel of experts stressed that there was ‘no reason to conclude’ that any were extraterrestrial in origin, but warned that mysterious flying objects were a ‘self-evident’ threat to American airspace. 

Mr Pope said that if the US was worried about this then Britain, as an NATO ally, should be too.

He added: ‘The UK can make a significant contribution to the wider search for the truth about UAP, by leveraging its world class intelligence community imagery analysis resources and capabilities. 

‘The bottom line is that we need action. 

‘Just as lawmakers in the US – Republicans and Democrats alike – are taking up this issue, UK Parliamentarians should start asking the MoD some hard questions, not accept boilerplate responses, and ensure that meaningful action is taken by setting up a task force modeled on the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.’

A petition has also been set up calling for the UK to set up an investigatory office on UFOs/UAPs but has so far attracted just 1,500 signatures since May.

It requires 10,000 for the Government to respond to it and 100,000 to be considered for debate in Parliament.

The petition states that the office ‘would be primarily to research and investigate reports of UFOs (unidentified flying objects) and UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena) over the United Kingdom and also assist and support witnesses.’

Even though they poured cold water on the extraterrestrial hypothesis, NASA’s experts did not deny the possibility of a ‘potential unknown alien technology operating in Earth’s atmosphere’. 

Their 33-page report called for NASA to utilise its technological might to continue studying UFOs because many cases remain unsolved — and researchers still have no idea what some of these sightings are.

NASA chief Bill Nelson announced that a new director for UFO research would help implement the panel’s recommendations. 

A separate UFO investigation by the Pentagon is also under way, but with the intelligence and military communities.

Alessandra Ambrosio sets pulses racing in a skintight black PVC dress as she attends the Alevi Milano dinner party in Milan

By Kirsten Murray For Mailonline

Published: 20:54 EDT, 22 September 2023 | Updated: 21:08 EDT, 22 September 2023

A Russian free-diver who already had at least 25 world records under his belt may have just smashed two more after descending 442 ft on a single breath twice.

Alexey Molchanov, 36, undertook two dives on Friday and Saturday at the world’s second-deepest marine cavern, Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas.  

The Russian has now been dubbed the ‘Deepest Man on Earth’ after he reached the astonishing depth of 442 feet (133 metres) holding his breath for the duration of 4 min 42 sec.

He was competing in the discipline of free immersion apnea, in which a free-diver descends in a vertical line by pulling on a rope without any help from weights or fins.

The diver said following the incredible feet: ‘My dive felt good, but I’m tired! Overall I felt strong, I felt clean as well but it’s not my favorite discipline.’ 

His second dive on Saturday may also result in a record after drugs tests are returned, which saw him reach the same depths but in a shorter time of 4 minutes and 13 seconds, The Times reports.

The depth is equivalent to a 40-storey building, meaning Molchanov descended and ascended this in a matter of minutes just using a dive line. 

Molchanov is the son of Natalia Molchonova, who many considered the world’s greatest freediver before her disappearance off the coast near Formentera, Spain eight years ago.

Molchonova held the most world records of a free-diver in history with 42 titles, and her son has followed in her footsteps, being the current most-decorated diver.

He smashed a free immersion depth record set in May by the Croatian Petar Klovar at 128m, according to world free-diving body AIDA.

The chief of safety at the Vertical Blue diving competition, Marco Cosentino, had this to say about Molchanov:

‘Alexey is not only the world’s best, he’s from an entirely different universe! He makes everything look so effortless which belies what it actually takes to do what he does. He is incredible.’

The 31-time world champion is a great of diving and runs a school named in honour of his late mother.

Among his litany of records, Molchanov previously achieved the deepest free dive under ice with fins, reaching a depth of 262 feet in just two minutes.

He has also claimed the last five world records in the constant weight category – another style of diving which allows divers to use a fin. 

Prior to his dives this weekend, he reached 426 feet in the Bahamas in 2018, when he secured the warm water world record.

And in 2015, he reached staggering depths of 846 feet in the AIDA Pool World Championships in Belgrade.

As an experienced free-diver, Molchanov can hold his breath for close to nine minutes.

He has honed his mother’s technique of ‘deconcentration’ during his dives, meaning, instead of becoming overwhelmed by the place, he detaches from it visually and psychologically. 

He said in 2021: ‘For me, freediving is not just a job or hobby, but a life’s work, and I am glad to have this new opportunity to share this amazing sport with as large an audience as possible.

‘This is not even just a sport, but a way to learn how to manage your psychological state.’

Molchanov is married to Elena Sokolova, a Russian freestyle swimmer who competed in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games.

Ashley Roberts sets pulses racing in a skimpy pale blue bikini as she skips Glastonbury to bask in the sunshine on the Battersea rooftop

By Laura Fox For Mailonline

Published: 03:45 EDT, 24 June 2023 | Updated: 03:45 EDT, 24 June 2023

British Airways stewardess delays passengers by five hours and ‘costs airline £50,000’ on her maiden flight by activating the emergency slide moments before take-off

• The Airbus A350 had been minutes from take-off at Heathrow to Austin, Texas 
• The rookie stewardess triggered the slide after opening rear door as jet taxied 

By Tom Cotterill

Published: 11:57 EDT, 15 June 2023 | Updated: 12:26 EDT, 15 June 2023

British Chambers of Commerce sets up business council to develop policies that will ‘boost UK’s growth and prosperity’

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter

Updated: 05:50 EDT, 29 May 2023

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.

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A motorist has become so fed up with the potholes in his area that he’s set up an official tour taking tourists around the biggest craters in his local roads – complete with a picnic lunch. 

Steve Bell, 55, is charging locals £80 for the tour of potholes around Bromley, south east London, including a personal favourite which he has named ‘the Big Dipper’.  

The father-of-two came up with the idea after he was constantly having to ‘dodge and weave past potholes’ in his vehicle, which he uses a lot for his family as a full-time carer.

Mr Bell said he will give locals and tourists the inside info on the state of the borough’s roads, even taking a ruler with him to measure their depth.

It comes as Bromley Council admitted it is struggling to keep up with the number of repairs needed, with 70 a day currently being filled in. 

The tour will showcase the piece de resistance of Bromley’s – an enormous crater on an unmade road that is so large it can fit three cars in and is permanently filled with water.

Other holes include his personal favourite, dubbed the Big Dipper, which lies close to his own home. 

An increasing number of huge craters having been popping up in Birtain in recent months, with residents coming up with similar nicknames.

One pothole in a village in Lincolnshire, which measures 26ft wide and 50ft long, has been dubbed ‘the lake’ by villagers who are frustrated over its growing size. 

An increasing number of huge craters having been popping up in Birtain in recent months, with residents coming up with nicknames for them.

One pothole in a village in Lincolnshire, which measures 26ft wide and 50ft long, has been dubbed ‘the lake’ by villagers who are frustrated over its growing size. 

‘Hold tight as we discover the ‘Big Dipper’ somewhere on the Westmoreland Road.

‘By the end of the tour you’re guaranteed to ponder in bemusement and exclaim ‘just where does our Council Tax go?

‘If your suspension and wheel rims survive with no damage then you’ll receive a unique certificate to commemorate the occasion.’

He added a picture of the ‘Big Dipper’ near his home, captioning it ‘Below – the majestic ‘Big Dipper ‘ as seen at sunset.’

‘It’s really dangerous and there’s more risk of an accident.

‘I’ve seen people slowing right down for these potholes and their cars are disappearing into them.

‘It’s bad so I thought I’d set up an official tour.’

One resident recently broke their ankle after skidding on pebbles thrown up by one of Bromley’s potholes.

Elsewhere, a residential street in Dorset is thought to be Britain’s worst road for potholes as it features 21 road craters in a single 220-yard stretch.  

Councillor Alison Stammers said that Bromley was ‘beset’ with numerous potholes, adding: ‘I understand such debris recently contributed to a resident breaking an ankle some two weeks after the debris was reported.’

She asked Conservative Councillor Nicholas Bennett, portfolio holder for transport, what the council would do to fill potholes and clear debris in the borough more routinely.

In his response, Mr Bennett apologised for the state of roads in the borough and said severe weather in winter had led to the issue, with the council’s contractor working as hard as possible on a backlog of repairs.

He added: ‘We have 13 teams dedicated to repairing potholes and some 70 or more are being dealt with every day and these are being tackled in a systematic way with the most serious potholes being dealt with first.

‘I have agreed that the teams should continue throughout the summer months.’

People found Steve’s tour idea hilarious.

One said: ‘I feel like I know the potholes so well now’, while another added: ‘I call potholes concrete meadows of the soul.’

Another queried: ‘How much is the tour? Better to know them in advance then guess while driving.’

One person asked if the council had ‘invested in Kwik Fit?’ and added: ‘It would make sense!’. 

Another said: ‘Can I get the certificate for the Highland Road one? I went over it a couple of weeks back at night.

‘It was shallower than the crater that is there now but my heart still skipped a beat. I think they are trying to make a shortcut to Australia at this point.’

One user added: ‘It’s a nightmare! I feel like the ground is going to open up and swallow us!’

Another person said: ‘There’s an assault course half way up the hill on Westmoreland Rd. Do you dodge left? Dodge right and just wiggle the steering wheel and hope for the best!’

Another added: ‘I think the strategy is if you leave them long enough the road won’t need resurfacing as it will just be one giant pothole’ to which another replied: ‘Seems like is heading that way, is like the council is waiting for the potholes to join together.’