Yes, but Allen saying "he had sent them to the RAF who had told them they were fakes" instead of saying "the photographer admitted they were fakes" makes me think no such admission happened.
Possibly, yes. But as has been said before, all we have are decades-old recollections of the event. What we can be fairly certain of is that Allan was the one handling the photos, and we know that for one reason or another, the Daily Record chose not to run the story. However, exactly what he told Speed remains unknown.
Did he explicitly say, "
Nah, they turned out to be fakes—RAF told me so," or did Speed simply ask, "
What happened with those UFO photos you sent to the MoD?" and Allan replied, "
They turned out to be fakes." If it was the latter, then it's entirely possible that Allan himself identified the hoax when inspecting the negatives in his lab. And we'll likely never know if he confronted "Russell" or whether he ever got a confession.
Interestingly, in the few official MoD documents we have on this case, there's nothing explicitly stating that the MoD declared the photos a hoax. If the images had been published, the MoD apparently intended to take certain actions:
In other words, it's clear to me that the MoD didn't want to appear dismissive or like the "bad guys" to the public. Simply saying, "
We don't care about some bogus photos," could have led some people to assume they were hiding something. Instead, they took a more calculated approach—stating that they had examined the photos but couldn't draw any conclusions about the "object." This was a logical stance, especially given that they also stated no Harriers were operating in the area at the time and that there were no other reports of anything unusual.
In short, they officially took no position but indirectly signaled that the story was false.
Would such a statement alone have been enough for Allan to decide not to run the story? I doubt it, given the kind of "paranormal" content the Daily Record occasionally published—stories about ghosts, Nessie, and UFOs included.
One thing that still puzzles me is the division of labor at the newspaper. It seems like Allan was handling everything—inspecting the photos, investigating the story, contacting the MoD, and communicating with "Russell." Does that make sense for someone in his position as photo editor? A case involving an alleged unidentified craft being intercepted by RAF jets seems like something a journalist, not just a photo editor, would cover.
And on the MoD side, we have a press officer conducting his own "investigation" rather than personnel with relevant expertise. The whole setup feels off to me.