[5] Gun heard no more of the email, and had all but forgotten about it until Sunday 2 March, when she saw it reproduced on the front page of The Observer newspaper. But as we said last night, this is the purpose of Albert Camuss great story La Peste, when Dr. Rieux is given the child dying of plague. Katharine Gun - who's played by Keira Knightley in a forthcoming film - blew the whistle on a dodgy scheme by the American government. Inside the world of ministers' secrets", "Iraq war whistleblower's trial 'was halted due to national security threat', "Official Secrets: A Conversation With Director Gavin Hood", "Official Secrets review Keira Knightley excels in Iraq war whistleblower drama", "15 Years Later: How U.K. Whistleblower Katharine Gun Risked Everything to Leak a Damning Iraq War Memo", "Film on British whistleblower's life to hit Turkish theaters", "Whistleblowerin Katharine Gun - "Ich wrde es wieder tun", "Sundance 2019: Premieres Include Harvey Weinstein Docu, Mindy Kaling, Dr. Ruth, UK Spies, Miles Davis & Ted Bundy", "Daniel Ellsberg speaking about Katharine Gun", In 2003, This U.K. Whistleblower Almost Stopped the Iraq Invasion. Domination, Sing Your Song: Remembering Harry Belafonte, Who Used His Stardom to Help. Soon after, they moved to Turkey in 2011, and for the most part, the family has stayed away from the public . However, Yasar could not be there for her trial as Gun, and her associates worried that his presence would turn Guns story into that of his as a refugee in Britain. Full Interview: Frank Mugisha on New Anti-, Former Guantnamo Prisoners Ask Biden to Let Them Keep Art They Made to Escape Inhumane Conditions, Part 1: In 2003, This U.K. Whistleblower Almost Stopped the Iraq Invasion. I hope, when shes ready for this story, she will. Initially, Gun decided to teach Mandarin Chinese in Britain. I mean, not the greatest decision of my life, I have to say. MARTIN BRIGHT: But once everyone did, there waswe knew that there was somethingthere was something going on. GAVIN HOOD: Thats exactly right. The trials and tribulations of daringly telling the truth and facing its consequences must certainly not be a light burden to bear. "The U.S. government, through the NSA, was spying in violation of international law on other UN Security Council members in order to better coerce them to back the invasion of Iraq. She was arrested and charged with breach of the Official Secrets Act. The Bold True Story Of Official Secrets Katharine Gun - Refinery29 And he was the barrister who ultimately put the case before the court, as short as that trial was, on behalf of Katharine, and came up with a truly original defense to the Official Secrets Act, which is the defense of necessity. And the memo was like this big red flag as soon as I saw it.. And when he didnt come out, I was panicking, you know, and I ran inside. Much of the news desk was opposed. Photos from Keira Knightley's Best Roles - E! Online White House Correspondents' Dinner: What's Happening & Who - Yahoo You didnt know what would happen with this memo you leaked to someone, who gave it to someone, but you knew you felt it wasI mean, you werent part of a movement. Then we see her become this woman who's starting to really know herself and starting to try and identify her own feminine being and trying to find her own place in the boardroom as a woman, as an entity, as a sister and . I think most people have red lines that they wont cross. I was very exercised about what was happening. Later, he stands by her as the many intricacies and dangers of his wifes profession and act of bravery surface. It doesnt matter if you catch them out in a lie, because they dont care, because they lie as a matter of course, and they change what they say from day to day. I think I found like the missing piece. Anyway, thats why the scene. Youre breaking the speed limit. Katharine Gun & Martin Bright Interview - Official Secrets And, of course, I was sitting in the restaurant waiting for her to come in, and I had no idea what to expect. But lets go back to the moment. Theres no doubt. "We still do not know all that happened - what GCHQ did, and why things happened," he said. I felt awful after I denied it. 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. You know, I mean, once itsif you plead guilty and you go away for three months, and its, you know, maybe not so bad as going away for two years, but still I would have had a record. In Turkey, close to her husbands family, Gun and her partner, Yasar, could raise their child in peace. AMY GOODMAN: So, before the time of the trial, Katharine, youthey have clamped down on you. What happened next is the subject of a new Hollywood movie starring Keira Knightley as Katharine Gun. You were just waiting. In a BBC interview with Jeremy Paxman, she said that she had not raised the matter with staff counsellors as she "honestly didn't think that would have had any practical effect". As well as illuminating Guns story, though, the film gives what was, by any standards, one of the great scoops of recent British journalism the credit that is long overdue. GAVIN HOOD: Chile, Bulgaria, Angola, Cameroon, Pakistan, Mexico. But, you know, these things happen. KATHARINE GUN: Well, hes Turkish, from a Kurdish background, yeah. And I didnt want to have a record. And the potential chink in the Official Secrets Act we had found, which could have become a defence for others, the defence of necessity [of speaking up to save imminent danger to life], it wasnt tested in court.. Im Amy Goodman, as we bring you Part 2 of our extended look at a new film thats out called Official Secrets, thats coming out at the end of August, that tells the story 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. It was like watching a case that was very similar to my own. I mention those lines about working for the people rather than the government. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yes, we had a great, a dramatic moment at the Q&A session. Of course I did, yes. [9] Gun spent a night in police custody, and eight months later was charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act. In April 2020, Gun was set to appear as a speaker at the 14th edition of the International Journalism Festival, but the event was canceled in February of the same year due to COVID-19. And they attempt to deport your husband, who is a? You think everyone sees on your face that youre the leaker. Gun has spoken at the 51Fest and conferences arranged by organizations such as the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). Katharine Gun: Ten years on what happened to the woman who revealed AMY GOODMAN: Youre watching that on television. The official editorial line, led by the then editor Roger Alton (now an executive editor at the Daily Mail) and political editor Kamal Ahmed (now editorial director of BBC News) was in close support of the Blair governments position on the invasion. Does she tell her story when she meets new people? [12] At the time, the reasons for the Attorney-General to drop the case were murky. KATHARINE GUN: And yeah, becauseanyway, he was going in every week to basically prove that he was still resident or that they could pinpoint where he was. Thats [inaudible]. Now, the defense of necessity is usually used in very more simple circumstances. Gun thinks she might speak out more considering the current state of political affairs and massive citizen involvement in sociopolitical issues. Some people have very low tolerance of wrongdoing, whether it is fiddling expenses, or whatever. Soon after, they moved to Turkey in 2011, and for the most part, the family has stayed away from the public eye. Lord Goldsmith must have saidI mean, I imagine. AMY GOODMAN: And this is a critical moment, when you say October, because thats when the U.S. Senate voted to authorize war. Ed Vulliamys character, played by Rhys Ifans in the film, says, you know, he effing caved at the time when his country needed him most. I was aware I was doing something I wasnt supposed to be doing. A full trial might have exposed any such documents to public scrutiny, as the defence was expected to argue that trying to stop an unlawful war of aggression outweighed Gun's obligations under the Official Secrets Act. The implosion continues. We can all have a view on Saddam Hussein and whether he should be deposed or not. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. And really, you know, she had so many questions for me, and she really genuinely wanted to know about the whole situation. AMY GOODMAN: Gavin, introduce us to Ben Emmerson. Were also joined by Martin Bright and Ed Vulliamy, the two journalists who reported Guns revelations in The Observer newspaper, at a time when the paper was editorially openly supporting the Iraq invasion. Authorities had attempted to deport Yasar back to the Middle East. It just means that the job is even more difficult than it was before. And whats so marvelous about what Gavins done is to just sort of bring this back into the present. Naturally, people are curious to know more about this courageous linguist who stood her ground even as political heavyweights descended upon her. How Lurking On Wall Street Influenced 'Succession' Fashion ED VULLIAMY: Yes. KATHARINE GUN: Devastation. AMY GOODMAN: What did you think about your own prime minister? Powered by WordPress.com VIP. All rights reserved. So her moral certainty was rooted in those formative experiences? Gun discusses her attempt to stop the Iraq War, which is the subject of the new movie Official Secrets. KATHARINE GUN: Yeah, and he had no money in his pocket. And nor did the story end. delivered to your inbox every day! I would love to know. So I was in a dreadful state. And yet this rather shy 30-year-old leaked details of an alleged plot to bug UN delegates before the Iraq war and was sacked from her . Katharine Gun's case can also be very relevant for Julian Assange's defense: "Within half an hour, the case was dropped because the prosecution declined to offer evidence. You want to know where he is? he said. What's more, her decision and movement to expose lies about the Iraq invasion made it be titled as the courageous and vital leak as per Democracy Now. ED VULLIAMY: Thank you. Well, this article is all about the Katherine Johnson childhood, Katherine Johnson husband (s), Katherine Johnson family and Her career in NASA. ED VULLIAMY: said on the program, I filed that story seven times. Young, in love, with a beautiful toddler and a baby on the way, Mary Katharine expected her husband of four years, Jake Brewer, to return from cycling in a charity event. And I managed to get through to his assistant. 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 . Democracy Now! You know, banks of civil servants couldnt do that. [5] After contemplating the email over the weekend, Gun gave the email to a friend who was acquainted with journalists. But as it happened, I wasnt called up on Monday. You know, he couldntand it was the first time he had heard about it. Please do your part today. And they failed, in part, I believe, because Katharine Gun leaked that memo. Iraq now, nightmare. We knew for sure. And nor do newspaper stories. [14] On the day of the court hearing, Gun said, "I'm just baffled in the 21st century we as human beings are still dropping bombs on each other as a means to resolve issues. I mean, this has been going on for a number of years, and it always sort of ended up kind of petering out, so, GAVIN HOOD: Other people had approached you before. AMY GOODMAN: How rarely a woman actress, an actor, gets to play, you know, the protagonist, the solid, strong hero, Gavin. Hes repackaged himself as sort of the European. Gun owned up to the leak a few days later to save her GCHQ colleagues from a witch-hunt. When you think, Oh, well, I wish we tried hard with the Americanwith our American colleagues. Truth has a habit of finding a voice, however. Lets find out! MARTIN BRIGHT: No, it was the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Martin Bright and Ben Emmerson stick by Kathrine the whole time . And you said in places like Chile. [6] Gun had previously been unaware of GCHQ, later saying that "I didn't have much idea about what they didI was going into it pretty much blind. Gun leaked the memo to the press in 2003, setting off a chain of events that jeopardized her freedom and safety, but also opened the door to putting the entire legality of the Iraq invasion on trial. GAVIN HOOD: Ben Emmerson. For the American gamer, see, Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, United Nations Security Council and the Iraq War, "Whistleblowerin Katharine Gun - "Ich frchtete, sie knnten meine Gedanken lesen", "The US spymaster, the whistleblower, and the secret email she exposed", "Profile: Katherine Gun, Iraq war wistleblower", "Katharine Gun: Ten years on what happened to the woman who revealed dirty tricks on the UN Iraq war vote? AMY GOODMAN: You only lasted what? Keira Knightley: Iraq was the first time Id been politically engaged, Leaking or briefing? Katharine Gun leaked that memo to the Observer, in the belief that the revelation of the proposed bugging and blackmail tactics might be enough to stop the war. And they had already taken him down into the custody suite, which is, by the way, where I had been before. is katharine gun still married to yasar. You know, these things happen. How Katherine Knight Slaughtered Her Boyfriend And Made Him Into Stew Its all so resonant. And she hadnt said why she had resigned. I mean, I literallyI couldnt eat. Get Democracy Now! Maybe there will be sympathy.. Shes ordinary. The love between Katharine and her husband, Yasar Gun, is undeniable, and the punishment they must to endure together is heart stopping. But that is unbelievably difficult now especially in the digital world.. All I want to do is feel the emotions that this young woman felt, and dont want to be fussed over. And it was great. But, you know, it. And he says, I need toso, Im interviewing Ben in a pizza shop, right? And I had to thank her forI mean, you know, in totally selfish terms, helping me break the biggest story of my life. I mean, my initial encounter with him at the Faith Foundation was extremely concerning, in fact, because he said that what he wanted me to do was develop a heat map, you know, an interactive map of all the madrassas, you know, Islamic schools, around the world, with my tiny team of two or three interns, showingand he looked me in the eye, and he said, I want you to be ableI want people who are looking on our website to be able to see how radical those madrassas are, by color coding.. AMY GOODMAN: And then what happened? Keira Knightley plays Katharine Gun in the film Official Secrets (Photo: eOne) Now living quietly in Turkey, Gun has been thrust into the global spotlight once again . AMY GOODMAN: But what caused you to say no? Her life story is depicted in the new film Official Secrets. In Part 2 of our discussion, 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.. The country, at the time, was being drummed into war by the Blair government, desperate to achieve the United Nations sanction for the imminent American-led invasion of Iraq. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. You didnt have that kind of support. You hardly told anybody what you had done. I ended up, bizarrely, teaching a couple of my former colleagues at GCHQ. The comedown after they dropped the case, and trying to recover from that, was quite stressful.. It was a very big audience, lovely, lovely theater. [5], On 13 November 2003, Gun was charged with an offence under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1989. Is Official Secrets Based on a True Story? - The Cinemaholic How am I possibly going to do that? Among them were Reverend Jesse Jackson, Daniel Ellsberg (the US government official who leaked the Pentagon Papers), and Congressman Dennis Kucinich. GAVIN HOOD: So, we meet the first day, and after a few hours I think we warmed to each other. She urged "those in a position to do so to disclose information which relates to this planned aggression; legal advice, meetings between the White House and other intelligence agencies, assessments of Iran's threat level (or better yet, evidence that assessments have been altered), troop deployments and army notifications. In its absence, Tony Blair won another election in 2005. Katharine Gun is a British Linguist and Iraq War Whistleblower. . I watched you last night at one of the premieres of the film, a kind of secret showing of Official Secrets. "I never set out to be a whistleblower": Katharine Gun tells - Salon Were on the set. Im going to start with you, Gavin. 4 4.Katharine Gun: Ten years on what happened to the woman who 5 5.Iraq War Whistle Blower Katharine Gun Shares Her Story | Video - PBS; 6 6.GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun speaks out | Daily Mail Online; 7 7.15 Years Later: How U.K. Whistleblower Katharine Gun - YouTube; 8 8.Katharine Gun & Martin Bright Interview - Official . And she said, Gavin, I dont want to wear makeup. I hadnt realised the extent to which Martin in particular had gone out on a limb for this at the paper. In this episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, TDBI Founder and President, Rev. One foundered for lack of funds, another strayed further from the truth than she would have liked. But I felt this information was explosive, it needed to get out. AMY GOODMAN: And Alton went from The Observer and ultimately made his way, ED VULLIAMY: Via variousvia Rupert Murdochs Times, yes. I wanted to go to the making of the filmKeira Knightley, did you meet with her?and also ask you, Gavin, about Keira taking on this role. You werent particularly worried. The author advocates anonymity. AMY GOODMAN: But once everyone did, you knew. She is also well known as a GCHQ spy. Right? Iraq war whistleblower Katharine Gun: Truth always matters. is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. TOP 9 what happened to katharine gun husband BEST and NEWEST KATHARINE GUN: And also, Im justwell, whether its natural inclination or whether its what was kind of drummed into us at GCHQ, but it was, you know, this the sense of being private and not trusting journalists or people who are trying to ferret out information from you. Im sure that what Katharine felt when in 2010 we found out that Lord Goldsmith had declared the war, in his advice, illegal, must have been pretty painful for Katharine to hear, as it was for me when Congress said, I think around 2004, '05, we knew, actually, there were no weapons of mass destruction. It was very difficult initially. You want to know where he is?. On the one hand I was relieved because my life wouldnt have to be scrutinised in court. . A film, Official Secrets, has been made of her story. And I called Jed back, and I said, This is an amazing way into how we got into the Iraq War, thatwhy isnt it better known? And he saidI said, Could I come and meet Katharine? And that was it. ED VULLIAMY: Its a story of endeavor, to no avail. And, with great respect, I think he did. Instead, Jake suffered a fatal bicycle accident. [4], After spending her childhood in Taiwan, where she attended Morrison Academy until the age of 16, Katharine returned to Britain to study for her A-levels at Moira House School, a girls' boarding school in Eastbourne. I mean, the pack of cards has gone from Afghanistan to Iraq to Syria. Shes not wearing tons of makeup. You know, lets say Iyoure a bit of a gambler, arent you? I felt like saying, I tried to tell you this seven times, and you would not let me print it. You know, it's tough. And that mattered, because, for all their faults, it seems to me that Tony Blair and George Bush understood that if they were caught out in a lie, that was a problem for them. AMY GOODMAN: The networks, like Fox, and The Drudge Report, CNN refused to interview you, saying that this couldnt be a real memo because, unfortunately, your newspaper translated it into British. I wonder what she made of the scattershot download methods of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange? You cannot talk to anyone about your intelligence work. Also with us, the director of Official Secrets, Gavin Hood. Why did you come in? Keira Knightley as Katharine Gun in the film Official Secrets. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, I mean, the story doesnt end. And so, but theres another irony about the position of the attorney general, which is, the director of public prosecutions in Britain generally has real autonomy in deciding what cases to prosecute, except in cases of the Official Secrets Act, when he or she must get the authorization of the attorney general to prosecute. Why did you drop the case? Guns story is not only an inspiration to her own daughter, but also to people around the world trying to be honest and brave citizens. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. If we found other information, it may have been different, but this information seemed to show us that wed been lied to. You authorized her prosecution. Her father had studied Chinese at Durham University and now teaches at Tunghai University in the city of Taichung, central Taiwan. Katharine Teresa Gun (ne Harwood; born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). I call them the Usual Suspects., She thinks, given the current state of politics, that she might start to speak out more. So how am I, with my tiny team of researchers, going to do anything like that? And so, its one of those moments where you realizeI mean, the chill went up my spine, like I thought, Ive got to get out of here. So, yes, that was not a good moment, yeah. Most people do. And, he says to me, she explained that Goldsmiths positionif I called for those documents, I would find out that he had been consistently saying that war without a U.N. resolution would be illegal. 'Official Secrets': the story of the British spy who tried to stop a war Theyre watching, you know, video games and bombs landing on Baghdadshock and awe. Keira Knightley to star in 'forgotten' story of Iraq war whistleblower Her performance reminds you of the sentiment of Daniel Ellsberg, the man who famously leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971, revealing the full truth of American involvement in Vietnam. 'Official Secrets': The True Story Behind the Keira - Newsweek