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. Whistleblower Katharine Gun and journalist Martin Bright are interviewed for their new movie Official Secrets for the film's LFF screening. So, where I had failed with my whistleblower, Mr. Goodman, Martin, with brave and extraordinary Katharine Gun, succeeded. MARTIN BRIGHT: The paperthe editorial line was supporting the war, but obviously there were those of us within the paper who didnt. That night, Katharine posted the letter to a contact whose identity she continues to withhold. And what we are seeing is a movement of people who are trying to stop it. AMY GOODMAN: Wait a second. "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. Katharine Teresa Gun (ne Harwood; born 1974) is a British whistleblower who worked as a linguist at the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ; a British intelligence facility) from 2001 to 2003. Bush had agreed to this to help Blair. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Let us learn more about the duo and where they are currently. Yes, I mean, these were, as Martin has suggested, divisive, divided, bitter, difficult times. This article was originally published inThe Spectators UK magazine. It is based on the whistleblowing investigation by Katharine Gun and Martin Bright. Woman who tried to stop a war. Two, there is a shadow intelligence operation going on through the Pentagon, all your favorite names on this programDouglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle. Gun did not seek martyrdom and wasnt searching for evidence to stop the war: the email fell into her lap. Was it? Everybody knows it. In January 2003, 28-year-old GCHQ translator Katharine Gun received an email from the US National Security Agency that would turn her world upside down. KATHARINE GUN: Well, I didnt do anything immediately, but I went home. A Single Conscience V. the State. It isn't a crime, it's a responsibility.". Gun believes that because there was no specific UN authority to attack Iraq, in theory Bush and Blair could be put on trial for waging an aggressive war (the charge at Nuremberg). Democracy Now! And its so relevant to be talking about this today, as the British government is talking about cracking down on the leaker of the memos of the British ambassador to the U.S. that forced him out. Someone within the antiwar movement, who was a former journalist, took the memo initially to another newspaper. "It got to the stage where I was certain the email I'd leaked wouldn't be needed, that it would never surface.". delivered to your inbox every day? A New Film Tells Her Story, Part 2: 15 Years Later: How U.K. Whistleblower Katharine Gun Risked Everything to Leak a Damning Iraq War Memo, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License, Senate Holds Equal Rights Amendment Hearing as U.S. Court Denies Attempt to Include in Constitution, Bola Tinubu of Ruling Party Wins Nigeria Election Amid Low Turnout, Rigging Charges, Hundreds of Iranian Schoolgirls Suffered Toxic Poisonings in Last Four Months, Biden Names Labor Advocate Julie Su to Lead Labor Dept. 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. BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Someone has betrayed their government and their country. With no plan and no contacts, a duty solicitor who was well out of her depth was called. The advice was that, by accepting what she'd done was illegal, the jail time might end up reduced. 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 . Her father is a drafting technician who runs an engineering company, while her mother is the owner of a company that offers IT consulting services. 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. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. Because I have processed it now, and Im probably a lot more clear in my thinking, explained Gun, who met with Knightley before filming. Yasur is a Turkish Kurd who is married to 47-year-old Katharine. Her net worth has been growing . Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie, The Johnny DeppAmber Heard Defamation Trial: The Makings of a Remarkable Moment in American Celebrity. We should think about that and remember that., 2023 Cond Nast. Soon, Katharine was in touch with John Wadham, then Director of Liberty. But within days, Bush declared he no longer needed UN backing and invaded anyway. Ezra Millers Messiah Delusions: Inside. MARTIN BRIGHT: It was NSA 'dirty tricks' at the U.N. Yeah, yeah. AMY GOODMAN: And then everyoneFOX, CNNand then they all cancel. Keira Knightley is persuasive as Katharine Gun, a British GCHQ employee who in 2003 leaked a sensitive document in the hopes of preventing her country from invading Iraq a decision that did . He was forced to resign, because it showed that he called President Trump inept, and he said, you know, the singular reason that the Trump administration pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal was because it was signed by President Obama, and other issues. Also with us, the director of Official Secrets, Gavin Hood. Ross has black color eyes and black color hair. In the film, Knightley as Gun declares: I work for the British people. At the time, her actions received very little attention from journalists in the United Statesunless you were watching Democracy Now! And, Ed, youre played by Rhys Ifans brilliantly in this movie, Official Secrets. The other was Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent and counsel at the Minneapolis bureau, who blew the whistle on FBI and other shortcomings before 9/11 and . Finally, she called someone (she has never named) who had connections to the media, telling them: I have something explosive, I think it has the potential to avert a war with Iraq. She went back into work on Monday, printed the email, folded it neatly and put it in her bag. Is that right, Katharine? That does it for our show. And they attempt to deport your husband, who is a? GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun speaks out. I work for the British people. Yes, its a new Hollywood movie thats coming out, but it is the real-life story of Katharine Gun. Don't worry, we'll never share or sell your information. And I felt it was explosive information. I was in Baghdad at the time, watching live coverage of the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, arguing for a second resolution at the UN. TINTIN: With respect, Mrs. Our obligation is to the truth. The email was a request to tamper with the debate of whether or not to invade Iraq. Powell span a story of mobile biological weapons factories in trucks and intercepted radio messages about chemical weapons already deployed in the field. Yeah. Gun, youre a spy. When Katharine blew the secret off the American-British spy efforts in 2003, her husband was thrown into troubled waters, which few people knew. Again, this is before the Iraq War. Never even come close to it! Katharine Gun has a much better grasp of the true spirit of democracy than Tony Blair. 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. interviewed Katharine Gun. AMY GOODMAN: And what did you do with it? Katharine smuggled the printed email out of GCHQ and leaked it to the media, on the 2nd March it was . Their legal battles exposed the highest levels of government in both London and Washington #OfficialSecrets #KeiraKnightley #MattSmith---------------------For syndication or usage opportunities please contact syndication@heyuguys.co.uk.---------------------More from HeyUGuys:Website http://HeyUGuys.comFollow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/HeyUGuysSubscribe here! It's taken a long time for Katharine to feel comfortable talking about everything that happened. Katharine Teresa Gun (ne Harwood; born 1974) is a British whistleblower who worked as a linguist at the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ; a British intelligence facility) from 2001 to 2003. When I saw the red flagit was like, Oh, my gosh, this is so explosive. That is the only consolation I have A lot of people would welcome that. She'd be tried at the High Court; the press and the public would know this whistleblower's name. Plus a change The warI mean, our obligation is not whether we support or are against the war. Truth has a habit of . Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Copy may not be in its final form. Gun received bail each month, so she was able to make it seem like she still worked for GCHQ and had a normal life. Nerves tingling, she went home. 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. By Gabrielle Bruney . Katharine Ross's body measurement is 32-38-32 inches, and she wears a shoe size of 7.5 US. This is Democracy Now! Katharine Gun in the Liberty office, 2019. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content. A year after she walked down the aisle, Ross gave birth to their only child, Cleo Rose, on September 17, 1984, in Malibu, California. Marcia Mitchell is a writer, researcher, and the author of "The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion." This and her other writings about intelligence issues have been critically acclaimed. And then, in November, came the call from her lawyer. It was a crisis meeting because they had failed to get a second UN resolution, to give legal cover for the war. 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. You tried to call. 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. 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 . Almost a decade ago, the world was gripped with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se. AMY GOODMAN: So, but talk about this, your argument to the editors. And explain what the header said, who you had to verify this with. Tweet. When asked by Salon how it felt to see a famous actress act out her life for an audience . But when she arrived for her trial at the Old Bailey, the prosecution dropped the case with no explanation. Mr. Koza? Yeah, whos that? Katharine was charged with an offense under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1989 on 13 November 2003. "Public opinion was just so obviously against the invasion that I thought it wouldn't happen," she recalls. KATHARINE GUN: Yeah, Mandarin Chinese, linguist. Gun put her career and her very liberty at risk trying to prevent the launching of an illegal war. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people have been affected by it, and those effects continue to this day. Former British intelligence officer Katharine Gun didnt set out to become a whistle-blower. And whereas usually with a whistleblower, you would work very closely with them directly, Katharine didnt come to me. Our Daily Digest brings Democracy Now! After university and a couple of years teaching in Japan, she was back in Britain and looking for a job. Im Amy Goodman. 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. We had at least a name. You know, its not every day you get a top-secret memo, and not just a top-secret memo from GCHQ, but a top-secret memo from the NSA sent to GCHQ. Your email address will not be published. She was brought up in Taiwan her parents moved there to work when she was three and so was fluent in Mandarin. And so it was decided: on the stand she'd state her innocence and hope for the best. "It was me.". ED VULLIAMY: Yeah, I came upon an extension number. AMY GOODMAN: Wll, this is the key, absolutely astounding moment. We still dont know, to this day, why they did that. In April 2020, Katharine was supposed to appear at the 14th edition of the International Journalism Festival as a speaker. On January 23 2003, Gun, who worked at GCHQ translating messages from Mandarin Chinese into English, discovered an email from American intelligence agent Frank Koza. Sign up for our Daily News Digest today! AMY GOODMAN: And it is explosive. Katharine Gun. The question remains: Why did they invade Iraq? Maybe reporters decided it was a fake, Katharine thought; maybe she'd just entirely misjudged its significance. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, so, initially, we were quite nervous. AMY GOODMAN: Twenty-seven years old, working for thewell, for British intelligence. KATHARINE GUN: Well, I was just appalled. AMANPOUR: by somebody within your organization. Gun, realizing how unfair it was to subject her colleagues to the consequences of her own actions, confessed and was arrested shortly thereafter. 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. Gun, the consciencestricken spy, will almost certainly remain the only British official charged with anything to do with the war in Iraq. AMANPOUR: OK. Yes, in 2003, Gun was working for British intelligencethat's GCHQ, the intelligence agency similar to the . You think this is real, but you do have to track it down. On the night of the 19th of March, 2003, the bombs began to fall. All I could was this looming war. I went with Blair on his last visit to Iraq as prime minister, in 2007. 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. Were talking about Official Secrets. Drawing on more than 100,000 leaked documents, a. Thought-provoking commentary and opinion on politics, books and the arts. is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. Ms. Now her story has been adapted into the film Official Secrets starring Keira Knightley. It was a crisis meeting because they had failed to get a second UN resolution, to give legal cover for the war. Katharine Gun's age is listed as 47 years old as of 2021. "Tony Blair was so obsessed with popularity ratings, I thought that would really affect him.". Any intelligence gathered would be used as leverage to coerce those nations into sanctioning a war in Iraq. We welcome you all to Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: And talk about what happened then. I mean, my first reaction was shock and anger. (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. This is a rush transcript. KATHARINE GUN: I work for the British people. What? AMY GOODMAN: Which takes us to Mr. Martin Bright. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. TINTIN: [played by Peter Guinness] Katharine Gun? Yes, in 2003, Gun was working for British intelligencethats GCHQ, the intelligence agency similar to the NSA, the National Security Agencywhen she leaked a memo revealing the United States was collaborating with Britain in collecting sensitive information to hold over U.N. Security Council members to get them to support the Iraq War. AMY GOODMAN: So, bugging these six countries. So, I decided that the risk to my career was minute compared to the upcoming war in Iraq, and the best thing to do for me was to leak this information to the press, so that everybody else could have the information, and hopefully it could avert this disastrous course of events that have occurred. And I pretty much ran home. In Official Secrets, Gun is played by Keira Knightley while Matt Smith takes on the role of Martin Bright. In fact, your husbandwould they attempt to deport him? I was trembling like a leaf. It actually didnt really make a big difference at all., Gun and her legal team decided to fight charges in late 2003. KNIGHTLEY: Governments change. But nonetheless, you wanted to do that. Thats Keira Knightley playing Katharine Gun, whos in our studio now, the whistleblower, former British spy, worked for British intelligence, explaining why she leaked this memo, which would get to the press, which would get to The Observer, which brings us to our next two guests, Martin Bright and as well as Ed Vulliamy. It was directed by Gavin Hood and the cast comprises Matt Smith, Indira Varma, Rhys Ifans, MyAnna Buring, Jack Farthing, Jeremy Northam, Tamsin Grieg and Conleth Hill. They question you. The film is coming out August 30th in theaters around the country. I certainly thought, Oh, my gosh, this is it and theyre going to find out it was me, Gun recalled. But, in 2003, when she came across an email suggesting that the United States and the U.K . I actually felt like, if I do this anonymously, nobody will realize its me and Ill carry on as usual. 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