Katharine Gun : Yas, I understand why you are angry. Nayib Bukele Touts Megaprison with Shocking Images of Shackled Detainees, Reporter Seymour Hersh on How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipeline: Exclusive TV Interview, Outrage Soars in Occupied West Bank After Israel Kills 11, Injures 500 Palestinians in Nablus Raid. because my husband wouldn't . Koza's email outlined an American plot to conduct surveillance on the United Nations offices in Angola, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea and Pakistan to find out whether they would vote in favour of supporting the American invasion of Iraq. And she sees this memo that says that the evidence for going to war would not be based on intelligence of whether there were WMD, but on trying to get something on the U.N. Security Council members, personal or whatever, to get them to vote for the invasion, to back President George W. Bush. Plus a change The warI mean, our obligation is not whether we support or are against the war. It took two hours for the cops from special branch to reach GCHQ in Cheltenham. Guns story being told in Official Secrets. But when her name was released to the press, she did a few interviews before trying to reclaim her anonymity. Katharine leaked top-secret information to The Observer about a request by the United States for compromising intelligence on diplomats. At the time, I was really focused on the Iraq invasion issue, Gun told Vanity Fair this month, ahead of the August 30 premiere of Official Secrets, an intelligence thriller recounting this terrifying chapter of her life and starring Keira Knightley. Yes, in 2003, Gun was working for British intelligencethat's GCHQ, the intelligence agency similar to the . It was a crisis meeting because they had failed to get a second UN resolution, to give legal cover for the war. "The world is moving in a completely fascist, corporate direction," she tells me, when I ask if thinking back she'd do it all again. Official Secrets is a 2019 British drama film based on the case of whistleblower Katharine Gun, who leaked a memo exposing an illegal spying operation by American and British intelligence services to gauge sentiment of and potentially blackmail United Nations diplomats tasked to vote on a resolution regarding the 2003 invasion of Iraq. And whereas usually with a whistleblower, you would work very closely with them directly, Katharine didnt come to me. Otherwise we are living in dictatorships. Her act of whistle-blowing is portrayed in the recent film Official Secrets . AMY GOODMAN: Well, Martin, you tried that. Powell span a story of mobile biological weapons factories in trucks and intercepted radio messages about chemical weapons already deployed in the field. Katharine Gun. When the former husband and wife square off in a Virginia courtroom this week, it will mark the culmination of a divorce that has been without comparison in the annals of modern American celebrity. At the end of the day, we are accountable to our conscience. Katharine Gun explains how she exposed a plot by U.S. security officials to spy on United Nations members in 2003. '", Meanwhile, the war in Iraq had already started. She'd been reading up on the preparations being made for a US-led invasion and wasn't convinced by the arguments; images of the first Gulf War she'd seen in her teenage years had forever been seared onto her mind. [1]Katharine Gun arbetade som versttare fr Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Instead, helicopters skimmed over the rooftops, so as not to allow any insurgents the chance to fire a rocket propelled grenade. We speak with a British whistleblower whose attempts to expose lies about the Iraq invasion was called \"the most important and courageous leak\" in history by acclaimed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. Its 15 years later. How scary was it for you to go ahead and do what you did? It later emerged that the newspaper was collaborating very, very closely with Tony Blair and his sort of enforcers to keep this kind of thing out of the paper. to your inbox each morning. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The invasion proceeded more or less on time with a coalition of the willing led by the United States and Britain. Subscribe to the US edition here. They were going use information gathered from the intelligence to either bribe or blackmail them into voting for this war. Let us learn more about the duo and where they are currently. Some of it was to do with complications over an unfortunate spell check within the memo. Says He Will Sign Bill Criminalizing Drag as Old Photo of Him in Drag Circulates, Lori Lightfoot Loses Reelection for Chicago Mayor; Paul Vallas & Brandon Johnson Advance to Runoff, El Salvadors Pres. BEN EMMERSON: [played by Ralph Fiennes] You might need our help. Our Daily Digest brings Democracy Now! The terror of that period took a toll on Gun, who suffered from PTSD for years. These Romantic Movies Are Guaranteed To Make You Cry, The Greatest Romantic Comedies That Youll Watch On Repeat, 26 Movies Every Woman Should See At Least Once. AMY GOODMAN: And talk about what happened then. Angola, Cameroon, Bulgaria, Chile, GAVIN HOOD: Pakistan and Mexico. KATHARINE GUN: Well, I didnt do anything immediately, but I went home. AMANPOUR: by somebody within your organization. Iraq War was in March. Her life had been turned upside down, and for what? A few weeks passed and no story appeared. All I could was this looming war. Katharine Gun has a much better grasp of the true spirit of democracy than Tony Blair. That is the only consolation I have A lot of people would welcome that. It was a Friday afternoon. Martin Bright, youre able to move forward with this story. In 2003, Katharine Gun exposed a plot by U.S. security officials to spy on United Nations members as they ramped up pressure to secure a resolution to go to war with Iraq, and she leaked the classified memo to The Observer newspaper. BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Someone has betrayed their government and their country. MARTIN BRIGHT: The paperthe editorial line was supporting the war, but obviously there were those of us within the paper who didnt. And so, all the header information that you would usually have was not there. It's taken a long time for Katharine to feel comfortable talking about everything that happened. After the incident, Katharine struggled to find work, and her husband had grown disillusioned with Britain and then kept away from the general public eye. "As soon as I got home I sat with my husband, who was still in bed. Well, now Katharine Guns story is being told in the new film Official Secrets, starring Keira Knightley. AMY GOODMAN: And it is explosive. I was quite nervous. The film stars Matthew Goode, Katherine Kelly, Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. KATHARINE GUN: The idea was to gather information that they could use to bribe them or, you know, threaten them into voting yes for the resolution. And it was a terrible moment when I had to look in my drawer and find it. Join The Spectator community and view or post a comment on this article. . The film is directed by Gavin Hood, and Gun is portrayed . But its not hard to guess from the, In 2013, Gun spoke with journalist Martin Bright, who published Guns leaked memo and plays a major role in the film, in an interview published by. It didnt just end when George Bush said, Mission accomplished. Its heartbreaking that its affecting so many lives, and for what? You actually, at that point, had never met Katharine Gun. Keira Knightley as Katharine Gun in 'Official Secrets.' Courtesy of IFC Films In the past, you've taken on roles in many period films but Official Secrets is set not that long ago, in 2003. I gather intelligence so that the government can protect the British people. Sound familiar? We do not accept funding from advertising, underwriting or government agencies. BEN EMMERSON: Do you want to risk it all? But, Katharine, how old were you in 2003? To this day, she has no idea how convincing she was during her interrogation but really, it doesn't matter: on the Wednesday, she marched right up to her manager. Asking for the whole gamut of information from domestic and office communications was for her a demand for blackmail material blackmail to manipulate their vote, to sanction a war. Theres a back story. Yeah. But they not only are saying they are going to crack down hard on the leaker, but theyre also saying they will crack down on the press, any press that reports this in Britain. The next morning, Katharine returned to the office as normal and got on with her work, trying as best as she could to not think about it. Required fields are marked *. Yasur Gunnis is the husband of Katharine Gun, a linguist who specializes in translating Mandarin Chinese into English. Here is a clip of you being interrogated by the police detective. Guided by her conscience, Katharine Gun defied her government and leaked the memo to the press, setting off a chain of events that jeopardized her freedom, her safety, but also opened the door to putting the entire Iraq invasion on trial. UNIDENTIFIED: This proposed war is historically unpopular. AMY GOODMAN: So, but talk about this, your argument to the editors. The former British intelligence officer leaked a document to the press that announced an illegal NSA spy operation created to convince the UN Security Council to approve the 2003 invasion of Iraq. AMY GOODMAN: So, bugging these six countries. '", Things moved slowly from then. "He said, 'It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Gunn, I'm just sorry it was under these circumstances. You see this headline splashed across the front page. The movie tells the story of Katharine Gun (played by Keira Knightley), a translator with the U.K.'s GCHQ who, in 2003, leaked top secret documents to journalist Martin Bright (Matt Smith) that . We're looking at the real-life political thriller of a British intelligence specialist, Katharine Gun, who risked everything to blow the whistle on U.S. dirty tricks at the United Nations in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003. AMY GOODMAN: So, that was Katharine Gun back in 2004. More than that, Koza wasnt just asking for information on what these ambassadors and their governments were planning, he seemed to want dirt. I asked Mr. Goodman, I asked others, Can you help me find this guy? Because you had to get an extension number. I work for the British people. Now, the political thriller, In case you arent too familiar with Guns story, I dont want to give too much away about what the movie shows. And those six swing nations, their delegates, they wanted , AMANPOUR: When you say swing nations, they were once at that the U.S. and the U.K. were trying to get on side . In January 2003, British intelligence analyst Katharine Gun read an email from U.S. officials who were trying to enlist their British counterparts in a public relations campaign to support . This was thought crucial to help Blair and his government survive a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons. "I'd have a criminal record for doing what was right." Discover Katharine Gun's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. In November 2002, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1441, which called on Iraq to get rid of chemical and biological weapons and long-range missiles. Ever since their story was documented in Marcia and Thomas Mitchell's 2008 book "The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War," Gun, the British whistleblower who attempted to prevent the Iraq War, and . She headed up to Yorkshire and went into hiding, as a media circus descended onto Cheltenham to find her. Katharine feared she'd be fobbed off and then put under surveillance should she report it, so instead she kept silent and headed home for the weekend. AMY GOODMAN: This is a remarkable story. And, guys, you do not want to miss this story and what would then take place. At great personal and professional risk, journalist Martin Bright published the leaked document in The Observer newspaper in London, and the story made headlines around the world. We need another Katharine Gun. Your email address will not be published. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: But basically, you tried to blow the whistle on what you thought was a false intelligence directive to try to cook up a reason for the Iraq war. She saw a newspaper advert for GCHQ. Former British intelligence officer Katharine Gun didnt set out to become a whistle-blower. AMANPOUR: OK. Yasar Gun : All you do is listen to people talking! Official Secrets. AMY GOODMAN: But the spelling of it is British spelling. This month, a new film Official Secrets, in which she's played by Keira Knightly will be released, telling her story. delivered to your inbox every day? I was like, Mmm. It seemed like it might be more interesting than some import-export company. Copy may not be in its final form. Katharine Gun in the Liberty office, 2019. It was an extraordinary moment. She had a leading role in the 1969 film, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and Elliott had a small, untitled role. The highly confidential memo revealed the United States was collaborating with Britain in collecting sensitive information on United Nations Security Council members in order to pressure them into supporting the Iraq invasion. We were handed a simple sheet of A4 paper that had a series of words typed on it. AMY GOODMAN: Thats the trailer for the new movie Official Secrets, based on the true-life story of whistleblower Katharine Gun. And you were what? AMANPOUR: And in the film, your character played by Keira Knightley basically says I mean, you say you were proud of working in GCHQ until you saw this memo. TINTIN: So, you work for the British government. When an American is asked to define the term whistleblower," they will probably reference Edward Snowden or Chelsea Manning. Keira Knightley says she doesn't think she'd have the courage to follow in the footsteps of the "true hero" whistleblower Katharine Gun, whom she plays in new thriller Official Secrets . It would show that when our politicians break the law they are held accountable. There is no chance of such a war crimes trial. Everybody knows it. For more on this incredible story and the real-life thriller that is coming out on August 30th in movie theaters around the countryour guest, Katharine Gun, is played by Keira Knightleywere joined by Katharine Gun herself, the whistleblower, former employee of Britains global surveillance center, GCHQ, played by actress Keira Knightley, yes. And the whole process, I think, was just a parallel process that didnt have a. I mean, what are you doing here? "The problem was that I just didn't feel guilty," she tells me. A Chinese translator? Courtroom porn and social media have turned innocent bystanders into a mass of mudslingers. Ross stands at the height of 5 feet 5 inches or 165 cm tall. The morning of Friday the 31st of January, 2003 started out just like any other. This is the trailer. Katherine Ryan's Family. France and Russia were against a second resolution and they had a veto in the Security Council. Yasar's wife is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters. This Shouldnt Happen: Inside the Virus-Hunting Nonprofit at the Center of the Lab-Leak Controversy, Chasing scientific renown, grant dollars, and approval from Dr. Anthony Fauci, Peter Daszak transformed the environmental nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance into a government-funded sponsor of risky, cutting-edge virus research in both the U.S. and Wuhan, China. In his memoir of office, Decision Points, George W. Bush writes about going to see Tony Blair in the Azores in the last days before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Tell us the moment. "And I immediately decided the public should know the lengths the Americans were going to in order to secure legitimacy for this war. When Gun exposed that the U.S. and U.K. wanted information on United Nations diplomats to persuade the vote on the invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush was President of the United States and Tony Blair was the British Prime Minister of the U.K. Guns information affected Blairs politics and government at the time, but he has seemingly recovered from the incident. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. That contact had connections with the antiwar movement. We should think about that and remember that., 2023 Cond Nast. Economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram on World Bank, Climate Emergency, Global Debt Crisis & More, We Want a Better Future: Meet an Asylum Seeker Evicted from, Jeremy Scahill on Mistreatment of Whistleblowers & Uneven Enforcement of Laws over Classified Papers, Part 1: In 2003, This U.K. Whistleblower Almost Stopped the Iraq Invasion. When asked by Salon how it felt to see a famous actress act out her life for an audience . KATHARINE GUN: Well, its just serendipitous, fortuitous, whatever it is, but his asylum case was coming to an end at the same time that my case began. There's a real potency to Gun's tale of truth-telling in our world of social media and fake news. I do not gather intelligence so that the government can lie to the British people. Let us learn more about the duo and where they are currently. January of 2003. Her whistleblowing was not enough to change the path of history, of course, and her last-gasp act of courage was all but forgotten in the brutal "shock and awe" of war. Katharine Gun, a shy and studious 28-year-old who spent her days listening in to obscure Chinese intercepts, decided to tell the world about a secret plan by the US government to spy on the United Nations.. She had received an email in her inbox asking her and . AMY GOODMAN: And the idea was they would figure out which way they were going to vote, so that they could sway them. When Katharine blew the secret off the American-British spy efforts in 2003, her husband was thrown into troubled waters, which few people knew. She tried to stop the impending . AMY GOODMAN: The guy at the NSA. Katharine continues to reside in Turkey and occasionally visits Britain as of 2020. "It was me.". Where Are Katharine Gun and Husband Now? And your memo, that you had leaked, was right front and center. In fact, your husbandwould they attempt to deport him? Her net worth has been growing . People hid under the tables. But I felt like straightaway it was emblazoned across my forehead: Its me! Woman who tried to stop a war. Acclaimed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg described Guns action as the most important and courageous leak I have ever seen. Guns incredible story is depicted in the new film Official Secrets, which premieres in the U.S. August 30. JASMINE: [played by MyAnna Buring] Youre asking me to collude in a breach of the Official Secrets Act. It is tough for me to be in the public domain againbut I felt like it was a good thing. GAVIN HOOD: So, yes, tremendous amount of pressure coming down on these countries, because if Blair and Bush had been able to get that U.N. resolution for the invasion, the weapons of mass destruction issue would have been almost pretty much irrelevant, because theres two legal ways to go to war. But then you turn yourself in. Katharine Ross's body measurement is 32-38-32 inches, and she wears a shoe size of 7.5 US. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images), https://thespectator.com/topic/katharine-gun-spy-iraq-war/, US edition of the world's oldest magazine, Katharine Gun: the spy who tried to stop the Iraq war, How Syria became the worlds most profitable narco state, How the earthquake is strengthening Syrias dictatorship, Why Netanyahu is right about Israels rogue supreme court. On 5 March Gun confessed to leaking the plot and was arrested for violating the Official Secrets Act. Theyd already escorted him down to the custody suite and begun the process. KATHARINE GUN: No. It isn't a crime, it's a responsibility.". We thought it was really interesting to talk to you at this time. You know, I thought it was something that people needed to know about, because it was basically exposing what was going on behind the scenes and the fact that, you know, all the flowery words that they used in front of the cameras about doing everything diplomatically was a sham. On the night of the 19th of March, 2003, the bombs began to fall. It actually didnt really make a big difference at all., Gun and her legal team decided to fight charges in late 2003. And . After the meeting, the Brits and the Americans shook hands on the tarmac and walked to their planes. People are traumatizedmilitary personnel are coming back extremely traumatized. KATHARINE GUN: It was a full nine to 10 months after the event. The following Monday, she walked out of work, a printed copy of the email folded up and hidden in her handbag. Gun had, of course, been forced to abandon her career in the civil service and finally, struggling for work, left Britain altogether. TINTIN: And now youre upset at being asked to do that to members of the Security Council. The advice was that, by accepting what she'd done was illegal, the jail time might end up reduced. AMY GOODMAN: So, you call Ed, and you say, Can you track down this guy? Among many other things. She remains an intensely private personbut, when director Gavin Hood began the process of adapting 2008s The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion, by Marcia and Thomas Mitchell, Gun felt it necessary to revisit this difficult chapter of her life to help make the film. The defense would have argued that, at the time I leaked the memo, I believed the war was illegal. Now, I asked around. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. "But there are things you have to do not for the result but for the principle, because they are right.". And on the face of it, it looked like an extraordinary story. In 2004, Democracy Now! We came up with an idea for a defence that I acted out of necessity but generally there isn't one for breaching the Official Secrets Act.". Katharine Gun. We're sitting together in a quiet room at the headquarters of human rights organisation Liberty, just around the corner from the streets through which she'd been marching. He was going in every week to the authorities to prove that he was still a resident and kept an eye on his location to pinpoint where he was. Democracy Now! But nonetheless, you wanted to do that. And then, on Monday morning, I went back into my workplace, and I just photowell, I made a copy of it, and I printed it out and folded it up into my handbag and put it for the end of the day to take it out of the office. Yes, its a new Hollywood movie thats coming out, but it is the real-life story of Katharine Gun. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Loses Election; Candidates Backed by Police & Teacher Unions Head to Runoff, Death Toll from Migrant Shipwreck Reaches 67 While Italy Cracks Down on, Student Debt Relief in Jeopardy as Conservative Supreme Court Justices Question Bidens Plan, Longest Alabama Strike Ends as Warrior Met Coal Miners Return. It seemed like it was, you know, the wagons were rolling fast and furious towards this awful situation and I was kind of in tunnel vision. But this needed finding Koza. His wife then took the help of MP Nigel Jones and managed to free him, and gave him the right to stay in the UK. Any intelligence gathered would be used as leverage to coerce those nations into sanctioning a war in Iraq. ED VULLIAMY: Well, I put on an American accent, and I said, Can I have Mr. Kozas office, please? 2019 | Maturity Rating: R | 1h 51m | Social Issue Dramas. Within half an hour, the prosecution had decided to drop its case, for reasons that to this day remain mysterious. Gun was cleared of a charge under the Official Secrets Act after being . Her name is Katharine Gun.Watch Part 1 of this discussion: https://youtu.be/u6n1VFDJ3CY#DemocracyNowDemocracy Now! Nerves tingling, she went home. Again, this is before the Iraq War. MARTIN BRIGHT: Well, but only with a story that you know is true. MARTIN BRIGHT: We have towe have to protect the innocent in the [inaudible]. Therefore, on August 27, 2002, he was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder by a jury and subsequently sentenced to death. Sixteen years on, the words are still seared into memory. Jack Bonneau: Young Entrepreneur Net Worth And Age- His Parents Name Explored, Nancy Cimino Cause of Death, Bio, Family and Chris Cimino, Bobby OJay Net Worth, Real Name, Wedding Pictures, Wife Picture, How Much Money Does Martin Milner Make? So we at least hadwe at least had a lead. But you see this memo that went out to everyone in your area. KATHARINE GUN: Actually, time-wise, I was bailed for eight months. AMY GOODMAN: Because Chile was one of the six. Following the incident, Gun struggled to find work that she loved, and her husband had grown disillusioned with Britain. AMY GOODMAN: And who were these six countries? In February, Gun attended a demonstration in opposition to the Iraq War. This is a rush transcript. Back in 30 seconds. No, you just do not do stuff like that. ONLINE:YouTube: http://youtube.com/democracynow Facebook: http://facebook.com/democracynow Twitter: https://twitter.com/democracynowInstagram: http://instagram.com/democracynowSoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/democracynow iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/democracy-now!-audio/id73802554 Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe The AFI Life Achievement recipient discusses her most memorable filmsand what moviegoers actually misremember. And tell the final results of what happened. In 2003, the girl in her 20s initiated a courageous move to expose the secret plan made by the US government. No. With no plan and no contacts, a duty solicitor who was well out of her depth was called. This was thought crucial to help Blair and his government survive a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons. He remains on death row as of July 2021, but there have been zero executions in the state of California since a 2006 court . The UKs own intelligence, published by Downing Street, produced the Sun headline: Brits 45 mins from doom.. The Drudge Report, famous right-wing website, had followed the story up. I tried, too, without success. Im Amy Goodman. But, so you have to track down Frank Koza. We still dont know, to this day, why they did that. AMY GOODMAN: But this was how long after you were picked up? Almost a decade ago, the world was gripped with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se. She is known for having exposed a plan by the US government to spy on the United Nations shortly before a vote concerning America's illegal invasion of Iraq. And truth was having a hard time at The Observer at that point. Official Secrets recounts Gun's story, from her fateful decision (which of course accomplished nothing in the end, even though the leak quickly went public) to her bizarre criminal trial. Yasars wife is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters. Members of the Security Council were outraged and any chance of a UN resolution in favour of war collapsed. whistleblower and former specialist for Britains Government Communications Headquarters. "I need to have a word with you," she gulped. What was the headline? Katharine Gun. Katharine Gun was a translator at GCHQ, when she received an email in her inbox from Frank Koza, a leading figure in the American National Security Agency. Katharine Gun knew exactly the sort of work she was employed to do; two years into a job at GCHQ as a Mandarin "analyst" and "translator", it's hard not to. AMY GOODMAN: But what did you see in your email?
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