Members of the Security Council were outraged and any chance of a UN resolution in favour of war collapsed. Her story was adapted into the film Official Secrets in 2019. View this post on Instagram. They question you. interviewed Katharine Gun. 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 . In the movie "Official Secrets," the character called Katharine Gun, who is played by Keira Knightley, actually discusses this memo with colleagues at GCHQ. 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! That is the only consolation I have A lot of people would welcome that. You didnt. Katharine was charged with an offense under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1989 on 13 November 2003. AMY GOODMAN: Because Chile was one of the six. Also with us, the director of Official Secrets, Gavin Hood. 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 . And what happened? Gun, youre a spy. LONDON - FEBRUARY 25: Former employee of Britain's 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. The CIA knows it. She was angered by how nonchalant the email was in asking GCHQ to carry out an illegal operation but she didnt know what to do. I asked Mr. Goodman, I asked others, Can you help me find this guy? Because you had to get an extension number. We do not accept funding from advertising, underwriting or government agencies. And then they changed their headline, from Condi Rice orders operation at the NSA and GCHQ to British newspaper prints fake memo.. Whistleblowing on wrongdoing is part of that fightback. 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. 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. Your email address will not be published. In Official Secrets, Gun is played by Keira Knightley while Matt Smith takes on the role of Martin Bright. I disappeared with my husband down to the coast in Brighton, on the coast of England, and spent some time away from the limelight, Gun said in the interview. Some of it was to do with complications over an unfortunate spell check within the memo. 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. Instead, the memo had been produced on the front page in its entirety. Both screenings feature discussions with the real Katharine Gun, South African director Gavin Hood (of 2015's "Eye in the Sky" fame), and the British journalist who helped break the story, The Guardian's Martin Bright (he worked at the sister paper The Observer at the time). Required fields are marked *. This was thought crucial to help Blair and his government survive a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons. When asked by Salon how it felt to see a famous actress act out her life for an audience . Two, there is a shadow intelligence operation going on through the Pentagon, all your favorite names on this programDouglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle. On the phone, she tells me how she came to be there. Latest Martin Milner Net Worth Income Salary, Andrew Witty Biography , Wife Age, Family Salary & Net Worth: UnitedHealth Group CEO, Blaize Pearman Wikipedia, Net Worth, Age, Bio, Mother Lydia Gaulden. And it was a very collaborativeit was a very collaborative place. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, so, initially, we were quite nervous. The film is coming out August 30th in theaters around the country. She headed up to Yorkshire and went into hiding, as a media circus descended onto Cheltenham to find her. With no plan and no contacts, a duty solicitor who was well out of her depth was called. "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. Sam Eliott and Katharine Ross . Join The Spectator community and view or post a comment on this article. The original content of this program is licensed under a. So, I called him and asked him if he could do anything to help track down Frank Koza, or the reality or otherwise of this individual. The daughter of Maurizio Gucci and Patrizia Reggiani was overwhelmed as a child by a wave of tragedy and looked for a gasp of air to breathe, even as sharks circled all around. Now, she tells, Monica Lewinskys Verdict on the Johnny DeppAmber Heard Trial: We Are All Guilty. This is Katharines story were talking about, but there is a back story in the film, which plays its part, which is mine, and Ill be quick on this. You see this headline splashed across the front page. Katharine Gun is the Most Important Whistleblower You've Never Heard of Gun discusses her attempt to stop the Iraq War, which is the subject of the new movie Official Secrets . AMY GOODMAN: I mean, the paper had come out supporting the war. "Once that initial flurry died down," says Katharine, "I returned to London to meet with the team from Liberty and my lawyer, Ben Emmerson. Yasur is a Turkish Kurd who is married to 47-year-old Katharine. He was the Observer journalist who was working in Washington on this story, as well, with Martin. There was also the question of the plea: would she admit to being guilty or argue her innocence? Know all ye by these presents that Katharine Gun is hereby awarded The Corner-Brightener Candlestick, presented by Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence. 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. Gun, her husband, and their four-year-old daughter shed their coveted privacy long enough to allow Katharine to be one of two former Sam Adams Award winners to present this year's award. This article was originally published inThe Spectators UK magazine. Yeah, and those are the. Life carried on. Yes, its a new Hollywood movie thats coming out, but it is the real-life story of Katharine Gun. 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. No, you just do not do stuff like that. When Katharine blew the secret off the American-British spy efforts in 2003, her husband was thrown into troubled waters, which few people knew. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Katharine Gun, Martin Bright, Ed Vulliamy and Gavin Hood. AMY GOODMAN: But, Katharine Gun, youre home. AMY GOODMAN: Wll, this is the key, absolutely astounding moment. MARTIN BRIGHT: The paperthe editorial line was supporting the war, but obviously there were those of us within the paper who didnt. Former British intelligence officer Katharine Gun didn't set out to become a whistle-blower. She saw a newspaper advert for GCHQ. 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. Yasur Gunnis is the husband of Katharine Gun, a linguist who specializes in translating Mandarin Chinese into English. TINTIN: [played by Peter Guinness] Katharine Gun? And then, one morning, Katharine popped to her local shop to pick up the paper, as she did every Sunday, and there, on the front page of The Observer, was the email she'd leaked. Is that right, Katharine? A year after she walked down the aisle, Ross gave birth to their only child, Cleo Rose, on September 17, 1984, in Malibu, California. 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. It seemed as if the decision to go to war had already been made, that all the diplomacy then taking place was a charade. Katharine had assumed a journalist would use the letter as a springboard for their own wider investigation. She was the real-life translator who photocopied . I could tell this email was pretty explosive.". There's a real potency to Gun's tale of truth-telling in our world of social media and fake news. Katherine Ryan's Family. Katharine Gun. Any intelligence gathered would be used as leverage to coerce those nations into sanctioning a war in Iraq. 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 is a for mer linguist and analyst at Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency and an Iraq war whistle-blower. She had leaked a secret email revealing what was called at the time an illegal dirty tricks campaign to fix the UN vote. The terror of that period took a toll on Gun, who suffered from PTSD for years. In fact, your husbandwould they attempt to deport him? 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.. Two days later, she gave the email to a friend who had several contacts in the press. The true story of British Intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun, who leaked a top-secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation. So, when I met Yvonne Ridley, who is the former journalist who handed me the document, it was immensely infuriating. Together they have a 13-year-old daughter. So I was bailed until . 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. 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. When she arrived, escorted by security, all her colleagues knew too. Gun is in her forties now and living quietly in Turkey. Right away, Katharine knew the significance of this message. 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. This is her story. Former employee of Britain's global surveillance center GCHQ (Government Communications Head Quarters) Katharine Gun smiles as she speaks to . She tried to stop the impending . For eight months she was bailed and bailed again, repeatedly. KATHARINE GUN: [played by Keira Knightley] I translated signals intelligence, and I reported anything of interest to my clients. But within days, Bush declared he no longer needed UN backing and invaded anyway. But it seemed inevitable. AMANPOUR: OK. And I hope that it can get people, Americans, to follow their conscience, and do the right thingstand up for what they believe in., With the world at an even more critical inflection point under controversial leadership, Gun hopes that others might find the courage to speak up if they come across as damning evidence as she dideven if it means temporarily sacrificing comfort. today: https://democracynow.org/donateFOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! Now the public knew. AMY GOODMAN: So, that was Katharine Gun back in 2004. And he had told me over two meetings, A, we know that Saddam Hussein has no weapons of mass destruction. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. Scott Davis was asking the questions.Synopsis: The true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq.A morality tale for the 21st century, Official Secrets tells the true story of British Intelligence whistle-blower Katharine Gun who, during the immediate run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, leaked a top-secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council. Where Are Katharine Gun and Husband Now? Yasars wife is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters. KATHARINE GUN: The Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defense. Her name is Katharine Gun.Watch Part 1 of this discussion: https://youtu.be/u6n1VFDJ3CY#DemocracyNowDemocracy Now! What was the headline? I was very much aware of what the leaders of our countries, Tony Blair and George W. Bush, were saying at the time. I had bought a couple of books which had been rushed into print at that pointone called War Plan Iraq and the other was called Target Iraq. I was convinced that there was nothing Iraq had done [to warrant the invasion]. All this was a measure of the bloody chaos that was Iraq after the invasion: eventually there were 179 British dead,4,500 Americans, and maybe half a million Iraqis, most of them killed in a sectarian civil war. Katharine spent that night in a cell underneath the local police station. But we werewithin The Observer, AMY GOODMAN: Of course, thats the time you should run the fastest to the editor, but. Were talking about Official Secrets. But of course that did not stop the war. AMY GOODMAN: So, Katharine, you read this memo. KATHARINE GUN: I translated signals intelligence, and I reported anything I thought might be of interest to my clients. ED VULLIAMY: Well, oh, indeed, brilliantly played his subject. JERRY: [played by Chris Reilly] Hes a Muslim. is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. 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 . These actors are so clever, Amy. If people knew about this, nobody would support this invasion.. Ad Choices, In any walk of life, you can choose to do the right thing, whistle-blower Katharine Gun, whom Knightley plays in the film, told, Jimmy Kimmel Roasts Fragile Snowflake Donald Trump for Allegedly Trying to Censor Him, Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 1, Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. Bush never wanted yet another UN resolution and when one failed to arrive, Blair decided it wasnt needed after all. 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. There were a million people in the streets, the Parliamentary Labour party was in revolt, cabinet ministers were resigning; there might be regime change in Britain before it happened in Iraq. On Tuesday, it was her turn to be questioned. Your viewers will recall them; I hope not, for their sake, but some of them will. Your email address will not be published. Yasar's wife is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters. 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. She believes that her leak probably finished off the second resolution, turning Chile and Mexico against it. Now her story has been adapted into the film Official Secrets starring Keira Knightley. Ms. "Yeah, I suppose so," she says. But its just because the copy editor ran it through spell check. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. And you were what? I do not gather intelligence so that the government can lie to the British people. Gun was cleared of a charge under the Official Secrets Act after being . Just put me through. And, sure enough, Frank Koza. That was a good brain moment. Courtroom porn and social media have turned innocent bystanders into a mass of mudslingers. How scary was it for you to go ahead and do what you did? 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. But were going to go to a break, and then were going to come back to this discussion. The drums of war are rolling at that period. 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. AMY GOODMAN: The guy at the NSA. Its you either go to war based on a U.N. resolutionwere all going togetheror youve got to prove, you know, a genuine threat to youryou know, its a self-defense argument. Famed U.K. whistleblower Katharine Gun joins Justin on Extension 720 to talk about, "Official Secrets," the new movie based on her real life story.Gun leaked a secret memo exposing an illegal spying operation by the United States of America, looking for information with which to blackmail United Nations diplomats tasked to vote on a resolution regarding the 2003 invasion of Iraq. So, where I had failed with my whistleblower, Mr. Goodman, Martin, with brave and extraordinary Katharine Gun, succeeded. Gun put her career and her very liberty at risk trying to prevent the launching of an illegal war. The western leading man, Sam Elliott, first met his famous actress wife, Katharine Ross, on the set of a movie. 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. It was particularly explosive in Chile, which has obviously been used to American intelligence. We need another Katharine Gun. 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 . 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. She struggled to find work after being sacked by GCHQ but she has no regrets. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. Story was adapted into the film Official Secrets Act 1989 on 13 November 2003 was well out of her was. I have a lot of people would welcome that charge under the Official Secrets Act 1989 on 13 2003... For the GCHQ, government Communications Headquarters intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun is played Keira! A top-secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation and view post! 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