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LONDON FEBRUARY 25: Former employee of Britains global surveillance center GCHQ (Government Communications Head Quarters) Katharine Gun smiles as she speaks to the media during a press conference February 25, 2004 in London, England. GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun speaks out. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But, so you have to track down Frank Koza. I felt guiltylike, I leaked this memo, and now theres going to be a witch hunt for the person who did it, and Im not going to be able to deny it. I could tell this email was pretty explosive.". 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. People hid under the tables. A union rep got in touch to offer support, and once news broke that an unnamed woman had been arrested for the leak the story caught the attention of the organisation whose offices we're sitting in. And this was before Isis, which exists, in part, because of events set in train by the war. Yeah. It was particularly explosive in Chile, which has obviously been used to American intelligence. AMY GOODMAN: But this was how long after you were picked up? They were going use information gathered from the intelligence to either bribe or blackmail them into voting for this war. When she was acquitted in 2004, it was difficult for her to find a new job that she liked. The Drudge Report, famous right-wing website, had followed the story up. The film stars Ma. I mean, my first reaction was shock and anger. This is her story. 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. It seemed inevitable. You walk in. Because I have processed it now, and Im probably a lot more clear in my thinking, explained Gun, who met with Knightley before filming. And so we had at least that. "This was crossing a red line for me," she says. We had no idea where it had come from. Hood's film dramatizes events in 2003 and 2004, beginning with British whistleblower Katharine Gun's decision to leak a memo exposing the criminality of the Iraq War and ending with her . 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. Katharine Gun (ne Harwood), 47, is married to Yasar Gn, a Turkish Kurd, with whom she has a 13-year old daughter. Everybody knows it. Instead, the memo had been produced on the front page in its entirety. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. You may not know the name Katharine Gun unless you live in the United Kingdom, but she was a pivotal figure in the run-up to the Iraq War.Or at least, she could have been. But its just because the copy editor ran it through spell check. Courtroom porn and social media have turned innocent bystanders into a mass of mudslingers. 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. Gun sits down with Christiane to share her story. Theyre basically cooking it. You see this headline splashed across the front page. These actors are so clever, Amy. In 2003, Katharine Gun was working for Britains Government Communications Headquarters, known as GCHQ, the intelligence agency similar to the National Security Agency here, when she opened a top-secret NSA memorandum. Therefore, on August 27, 2002, he was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder by a jury and subsequently sentenced to death. 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. The plan was to persuade them simply to abstain by piling up enough votes from other countries. . AMY GOODMAN: Wait a second. It is vital to speak up in a democracy. "I got into the office, turned on my computer and looked through my emails," says Katharine, more than 16 years later. Otherwise we are living in dictatorships. The AFI Life Achievement recipient discusses her most memorable filmsand what moviegoers actually misremember. And you said you say that, you know, I didnt join in order to fix a vote in the U.N. to convince the world to go to a war to go to war. He remains on death row as of July 2021, but there have been zero executions in the state of California since a 2006 court . Katharine was amongst them. Its not true. What was the headline? We still dont know, to this day, why they did that. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people have been affected by it, and those effects continue to this day. Thought-provoking commentary and opinion on politics, books and the arts. The drums of war are rolling at that period. Required fields are marked *. Now her story has been adapted into the film Official Secrets starring Keira Knightley. List of Wanted Pages on Real Life Heroes Wiki. 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. The memo proposed blackmailing smaller, undecided member states into voting for war. I think that speaks rather highly of you. Yasar Gun : All you do is listen to people talking! I had no idea what was going to happen to me and my life kind of came to a standstillit was a struggle emotionally, financially, mentally, said Gun of that time. A Single Conscience V. the State. I work for the British people. During that period of purgatory, I ask, did she regret it all? With no plan and no contacts, a duty solicitor who was well out of her depth was called. She explained that when she was first arrested, her name wasnt released publicly for eight months. Katharine Gun. BEN EMMERSON: Your marriage will be interrogated. That meant winning over temporary members of the Council, countries such as Angola, Bulgaria, Chile and Mexico. 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. We were going to bring all of this out and it was all going to be in the public. Instead, the case was droppeda temporary relief for her, but a troubling outcome on a greater scale, since it essentially meant they slammed the door shut on that discussion.. She revealed the dirty tricks on the UN Iraq war vote to the world. Ezra Millers Messiah Delusions: Inside. The email wasnt even meant for her. 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. 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. Now, I asked around. Her late husband, Tom, a former special agent of the FBI and one-time head of . And I knew that I needed help. Someone within the antiwar movement, who was a former journalist, took the memo initially to another newspaper. Is that right, Katharine? KATHARINE GUN: Well, I was just appalled. KATHARINE GUN: [played by Keira Knightley] Do you mean have I leaked anything else? After the issue, they moved to Turkey in 2011 with her whole family to avoid the general public eye. She was arrested and held at the police station in Cheltenham for 24 hours before being bailed. In fact, your husbandwould they attempt to deport him? Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.orgPlease consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! It was only September 2002 but the carrier was about to leave for the Gulf. I filed that story seven times to The Observer. 2019 | Maturity Rating: R | 1h 51m | Social Issue Dramas. Currently, Katharine Ross is 82 years old as she was born on 29th January 1940. KATHARINE GUN: Detective, I dont object to being asked to collect information that could help prevent a terror attack. I asked her why she decided to leak the memo. GAVIN HOOD: We have to protect the innocent and source, yeah. GAVIN HOOD: Yes. Also with us, the director of Official Secrets, Gavin Hood. Official Secrets is a movie about real-life whistleblower Katharine Gun, a relatively low-level British Intelligence agent (she was a translator in the Government Communications Headquarters) who . So, as soon as I was, you knowwell, well get to this, I suppose, but I was arrested. Katharine leaked top-secret information to The Observer about a request by the United States for compromising intelligence on diplomats. KATHARINE GUN, WHISTLEBLOWER: Its you know, its very hard to explain the point of view I had or the mental state I was in at the time. And you were what? And they attempt to deport your husband, who is a? "The officer shook my hand once I was bailed and released," Katharine recalls. I talked to a couple of colleagues about it, about even taking it to the editor, because you dont want to take a half-baked story to your editor, particularly at the time of intense prewar preparation. The following Monday, she walked out of work, a printed copy of the email folded up and hidden in her handbag. And I pretty much ran home. Gun had, of course, been forced to abandon her career in the civil service and finally, struggling for work, left Britain altogether. I certainly thought, Oh, my gosh, this is it and theyre going to find out it was me, Gun recalled. It is tough for me to be in the public domain againbut I felt like it was a good thing. He was the Observer journalist who was working in Washington on this story, as well, with Martin. After a long weekend of contemplation, Gunwho had been one of about 100 people to receive the memodecided to print out the letter and send it to a journalist via an intermediary. "And I immediately decided the public should know the lengths the Americans were going to in order to secure legitimacy for this war. 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. 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 . Where Are Katharine Gun and Husband Now? AMANPOUR: OK. AMY GOODMAN: And it is explosive. This is a rush transcript. "He said, 'It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Gunn, I'm just sorry it was under these circumstances. And likewise the other performances, extraordinary in this film. As noted in online sources, the former spy's birth year is recorded to be 1974. So, we had a terrible moment where we had seen organizations follow the story up. Gun's trial took place on February 25, 2004, where the charges against her were dropped after only half an hour due to the prosecution deciding not to present any evidence. Life carried on. Some call that treason. 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 . Her life had been turned upside down, and for what? 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. We speak with Katharine Gun; the British journalists who reported on Guns revelations in The Observer newspaper, Martin Bright and Ed Vulliamy; and Gavin Hood, director of Official Secrets.. All rights reserved. [2] r 2003 lckte hon ut hemlig information till tidningen The Observer, angende en begran frn USA om att samla in knslig information om diplomater frn medlemslnder i FN:s . She is his first try at marriage, and evidently, he's enjoying his beginner's luck. The question remains: Why did they invade Iraq? It was intended for someone else but had been distributed to everyone in her section. Back in 30 seconds. It would show that there isnt a double standard. Heeding the dictates of conscience and true patriotism, Ms. The terror of that period took a toll on Gun, who suffered from PTSD for years. Yasar's wife is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters. Yeah, and those are the. 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. The legal case against Gun was eventually dropped by the British government in 2004, after her lawyer, Ben Emmerson QC (played in the film with fabulous charisma by Ralph Fiennes), threatened to use disclosure to put the legal basis of the war itself on trial. So, where I had failed with my whistleblower, Mr. Goodman, Martin, with brave and extraordinary Katharine Gun, succeeded. Theyd already escorted him down to the custody suite and begun the process. You worked for GCHQ in Britain. I mean, what are you doing here? AMY GOODMAN: So, that was Katharine Gun back in 2004. Her name is Katharine Gun.Watch Part 1 of this discussion: https://youtu.be/u6n1VFDJ3CY#DemocracyNowDemocracy Now! By Nick Wall/IFC Films/Everett Collection. You cannot talk to anyone about your intelligence work. But were going to go to a break, and then were going to come back to this discussion. Angola, Cameroon, Bulgaria, Chile, GAVIN HOOD: Pakistan and Mexico. 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. "The problem was that I just didn't feel guilty," she tells me. . 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 . This is Democracy Now! What do you do? TINTIN: [played by Peter Guinness] Katharine Gun? Bush never wanted yet another UN resolution and when one failed to arrive, Blair decided it wasnt needed after all. 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 . JACQUELINE JONES: [played by Katherine Kelly] Intelligence may be being manipulated to take this country to war. She had leaked a secret email revealing what was called at the time an illegal dirty tricks campaign to fix the UN vote. She has then attributed to being a huge source of information to the medias watch. AMY GOODMAN: Because Chile was one of the six. Katharine Gun has a much better grasp of the true spirit of democracy than Tony Blair. AMY GOODMAN: So it was sort of chicken scratch on the back. In 2003, Katharine Gun, a young specialist working for Britains Government Communications Headquarters, exposed a highly confidential memo that revealed the United States collaboration with Britain in collecting sensitive information on United Nations Security Council members in order to pressure them into supporting the Iraq invasion. MARTIN BRIGHT: It was one of those huge, huge, huge stories. Two weeks later, on the 15th of February, 2003, a million people took to the streets of London to protest the prospect of Britain joining the war in Iraq. KATHARINE GUN: When I saw this email asking GCHQs help to bug the six swing nations to gather a vote for war with Iraq, I was very angry at first and very saddened that it had come to this, and that despite all the talk from both Tony Blair and George Bush about how important it was to get the U.N. on board and to legitimize any kind of aggression, that they were actually going around it in such low-handed manner. In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to The Observer, concerning a request by the United States for compromising intelligence on diplomats from member states of the 2003 Security Council.The diplomats were due to vote on a second United . But nonetheless, you wanted to do that. "And there in my inbox was was this email from [the US] National Security Agency, which in and of itself was quite out of the ordinary.". AMY GOODMAN: And talk about what happened then. The British governments own lawyers were afraid that without specific UN authorization, the war might be illegal; British soldiers could even be prosecuted for war crimes. That is the only consolation I have A lot of people would welcome that. KATHARINE GUN: [played by Keira Knightley] I translated signals intelligence, and I reported anything of interest to my clients. AMY GOODMAN: So, Katharine, you read this memo. The advice was that, by accepting what she'd done was illegal, the jail time might end up reduced. It stunned Katharine Gun at the time she discovered this duplicity during her work at GCHQ, and it still stuns to see it displayed on the screen, especially actual news reports from the period. Youre working on translating Mandarin. And what happened? Now the public knew. In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to The Observer, concerning a request by the United States for compromising intelligence on diplomats from member states of the 2003 Security Council. A month later, the Observer splashed the story over its front page. Anything of interest to my clients decided to leak the memo were picked up thought, Oh my! Frank Koza intelligence to either bribe or blackmail them into voting for this war first reaction was and! Back in 2004 in train by the war was sort of chicken on. I translated signals intelligence, and those effects continue to this day her had. After you were picked up solicitor who was well out of her depth was called UN resolution and when failed! Train by the war of conscience and true patriotism, Ms making donation. Why did they invade Iraq set in train by the war members of the true spirit of democracy than Blair! Red line for me to be 1974 Guns incredible story is depicted in new! 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