"It worries me, it should worry us all. They wont just put you through to a man who doesnt exist in a place that doesnt exist. JACQUELINE JONES: [played by Katherine Kelly] Intelligence may be being manipulated to take this country to war. It would show that when our politicians break the law they are held accountable. There is no chance of such a war crimes trial. 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. to your inbox each morning. Her late husband, Tom, a former special agent of the FBI and one-time head of counter-intelligence in New York, co-authored the Gun . 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. I work for the British people. I didnt know why, but I was going nuts. When asked by Salon how it felt to see a famous actress act out her life for an audience . I asked her why she decided to leak the memo. How frustrating it was for Gun to sit in her modest home next to her husband, and see fiction portrayed on the evening news. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Katharine Gun explains how she exposed a plot by U.S. security officials to spy on United Nations members in 2003. But I watched Blair with his smug smile and his sterile speeches that tell us nothing . She couldnt shake the indelible images of the turkey shoot of retreating Iraqis on the Highway of Death during the first Gulf War in 1991, the road out of Kuwait strewn with burnt-out vehicles and charred bodies. Acclaimed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg described Katharine Guns action as the most important and courageous leak I have ever seen. Dan Ellsberg said, No one elseincluding myselfhas ever done what Katharine Gun did: tell secret truths at personal risk, before an imminent war, in time, possibly, to avert it.. France and Russia were against a second resolution and they had a veto in the Security Council. When I saw the red flagit was like, Oh, my gosh, this is so explosive. The whole issue of Iraq has left us with a legacy, which is not good. Enter Katharine Gun. Yasur Gunnis is the husband of Katharine Gun, a linguist who specializes in translating Mandarin Chinese into English. Katharine Gun. AMY GOODMAN: So it was sort of chicken scratch on the back. Subscribe to the US edition here. 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. Members of the Security Council were outraged and any chance of a UN resolution in favour of war collapsed. 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. Who Is Yasar 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. AMY GOODMAN: So, Katharine, you read this memo. AMANPOUR: by somebody within your organization. Katharine Gun (Katharine Teresa Harwood) was born on 1974 in United Kingdom, is a Linguist. The person responsible for the jeopardy to face Blair and the coalition in invading Iraq was as well as Bush and Blair themselves a young translator at GCHQ, Katharine Gun. I tried, too, without success. 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. Never heard of Gun? 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. She was sitting at her computer in GCHQ when an email arrived from one Frank Koza, chief of staff at the regional targets division of the US National Security Agency. So, that was Angola, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea and Pakistan. Let us learn more about the duo and where they are currently. KATHARINE GUN: Well, no, I was in a shock when I saw it. She has then attributed to being a huge source of information to the medias watch. 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. Woman who tried to stop a war. It wasn't that she was naive. You walk in. We should think about that and remember that., 2023 Cond Nast. Your email address will not be published. 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? . interviewed Katharine Gun. GAVIN HOOD: Yes. Ten years ago, a young Mandarin specialist at GCHQ, the government's surveillance centre in Cheltenham, did something extraordinary. AMY GOODMAN: So, that was Katharine Gun back in 2004. We do not accept funding from advertising, underwriting or government agencies. And so, all the header information that you would usually have was not there. Yasar Gun is the husband of a British whistleblower, Katharine Gun, who revealed top-secret information. Never even come close to it! In April 2020, Katharine was supposed to appear at the 14th edition of the International Journalism Festival as a speaker. TINTIN: [played by Peter Guinness] Katharine Gun? We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. And he had told me over two meetings, A, we know that Saddam Hussein has no weapons of mass destruction. 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. When she was acquitted in 2004, it was difficult for her to find a new job that she liked. 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. Now, she was being asked to help get a new war authorised by finding material for the Americans to blackmail and bribe the international community. There's a real potency to Gun's tale of truth-telling in our world of social media and fake news. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yes. Katharine was charged with an offense under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1989 on 13 November 2003. Plus a change The warI mean, our obligation is not whether we support or are against the war. Record Coal Prices Help Break Strike. 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 . MARTIN BRIGHT: It was cock-up rather than conspiracy. Gun said that remarkably and very depressingly, Although technically a period piece, moviegoers will be able to make connections to more recent whistleblowing scandals when watching, Knightley said when she asked Gun if she would do it again, Gun simply replied, Yes, absolutely., The Bold True Story Of Official Secrets Katharine Gun, Over the decades, popular culture has created dominant narratives of the Dominican Republic that are most often synonymous with poverty, crime, or state vi, This story contains spoilers for Ant-Man: Quantumania. 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. The moment she walked out of GCHQ, she was breaking the Official Secrets Act, perhaps committing an act of treason. And yeah, it was just a request from the NSA tofor GCHQ to assist them in bugging the domestic and office communications of the six U.N. Security Council delegates. AMY GOODMAN: But, Katharine Gun, youre home. GUN: Well, simply the e-mail was from the NSA, which is the U.S. equivalent of GCHQ, and it was asking for our assistance, GCHQs assistance, in collecting information from six of the swing U.S. Security Council swing nations. Due to the pandemic, the event was then canceled. 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. You've never seen war, you've never smelled it! KATHARINE GUN: It was a full nine to 10 months after the event. And what we are seeing is a movement of people who are trying to stop it. Sign up for our Daily News Digest today! We thought it was really interesting to talk to you at this time. Official Secrets is based on the actions of Brit Katharine Gun, who revealed that America had been eavesdropping on diplomats from other countries. Robbie Robertson Reflects on His Legendary Rock Career, Iraq War Whistle Blower Katharine Gun Shares Her Story, Jack Goldsmith Discusses the Limits of Executive Power, + Major support for Amanpour and Company is provided by the Anderson Family Charitable Fund, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim, III, Candace King Weir, Jim Attwood and Leslie Williams, Mark J. Blechner, Seton J. Melvin, Bernard and Denise Schwartz, Koo and Patricia Yuen, the Leila and Mickey Straus Family Charitable Trust, Barbara Hope Zuckerberg, Jeffrey Katz and Beth Rogers, the Filomen M. DAgostino Foundation and. Maybe reporters decided it was a fake, Katharine thought; maybe she'd just entirely misjudged its significance. When you go to court, you face years in prison. They want to interview Martin Bright, because youve got the story of this memo. It seemed as if the decision to go to war had already been made, that all the diplomacy then taking place was a charade. 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. Did you know that you can get Democracy Now! I mean, its every journalists dream to have these, you know, front-page splash stories that get followed up around the world. I work for the British people. Whistleblower Katharine Gun and journalist Martin Bright are interviewed for their new movie Official Secrets for the film's LFF screening. But I felt like straightaway it was emblazoned across my forehead: Its me! Now the public knew. And this was before Isis, which exists, in part, because of events set in train by the war. Gun, the consciencestricken spy, will almost certainly remain the only British official charged with anything to do with the war in Iraq. Katharine Gun has a much better grasp of the true spirit of democracy than Tony Blair. AMY GOODMAN: And talk about what happened then. JUDGE HYAM: [played by Kenneth Cranham] Katharine Teresa Gun, youre charged with an offense of the Official Secrets Act. 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. 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. 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. And it was a very collaborativeit was a very collaborative place. And thats where you get through. AMY GOODMAN: And who were these six countries? We had no idea where it had come from. 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. Truth has a habit of . 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.. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Guns story being told in Official Secrets. Wise man. Sam Eliott and Katharine Ross . Then the story went away, and that's how I wanted it at that time, because I was actually quite traumatized by the whole thing. She did add, however, that she's hopeful the film will shed much needed light on the subject. But this needed finding Koza. MARTIN BRIGHT: We have towe have to protect the innocent in the [inaudible]. Katharine Gun. 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. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. As the build-up to war continued, Gun felt increasing dismay. And . The email wasnt even meant for her. View this post on Instagram. 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. AMY GOODMAN: Twenty-seven years old, working for thewell, for British intelligence. 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. Were joined also by Martin Bright, who is the journalist who reported Guns revelations in The Observer, as well as Ed Vulliamy. TINTIN: And now youre upset at being asked to do that to members of the Security Council. You think this is real, but you do have to track it down. I certainly thought, Oh, my gosh, this is it and theyre going to find out it was me, Gun recalled. Just entirely misjudged its significance officials to spy on United Nations members in 2003 Act of treason her for. Was difficult for her to find a new job that she 's hopeful the film will shed much needed on. And Now youre upset at being asked katharine gun real husband do our work out and it was a full to... To find a new job that she liked to revist this article, visit my Profile, then View stories. 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