KATHARINE GUN: Oh, yes, absolutely. She is played, with steely English resolve, by Keira Knightley. And looking back, its easy to be nostalgic about how things were with Bush and Blair, because it looks like these people were easier to hold to account. 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. I denied it. I think youll find hes hiding in plain sight. And there was a dramatic hush in the audience. "The Most Important Leak" -- How Katharine Gun Tried to Stop the Iraq AMY GOODMAN: So, and we want to get to all that, but nowwe want to get to all that, but right now youre showing this film around the country. So, they immediatelywell, first of all, my manager said, What would you like to do? And I said, Well, pfff, what can I do? You know, we have to tell internal security. AMY GOODMAN: So, Katharine, as all of this is unfolding, the U.S. and Britain bomb Iraq. What I did is a very unusual thing to do, because the results are not generally good. MARTIN BRIGHT: No, it was the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. I mean, thats why MartinI remember Martin and Ed. A film, Official Secrets, has been made of her story. "I never set out to be a whistleblower": Katharine Gun tells - Salon We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. AMY GOODMAN: Well, explain that. AMY GOODMAN: Now, he goes in for a regular check-in. AMY GOODMAN: No, you thought it was routine when he walked in. Fox News' Kat Timpf Marries Cameron Friscia: See the Photos - People You know, he couldntand it was the first time he had heard about it. The last few hectic days have left her relieved and happy, she says, but completely uncertain as to her future. [25][26] Together with journalist Peter Beaumont, Gun advised and consulted over the years it took to make the film and they are "very happy with the result.[20]. KATHARINE GUN: Well, yeah, yeah. You dont do you? One foundered for lack of funds, another strayed further from the truth than she would have liked. She was 27. And we can say that, you know, thatso, he comes back, under all this pressure. And at the end of the Q&A, I went to try and find him, and hed gone. AMY GOODMAN: Katharine, has your 11-year-old daughter seen the film? BBC NEWS | UK | Politics | Interview: Whistleblower Katharine Gun 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. It was shown in the Castro Theatre. Gun thinks she might speak out more considering the current state of political affairs and massive citizen involvement in sociopolitical issues. But a part of me thought: Damn we could have put the war on trial. You want to know where he is?. And through the lights, I couldnt quite see who the guy was. He was Kurdishhe is Kurdish. The Observers front page story on 2 March 2003. AMY GOODMAN: They said you could have pled. 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. You were just waiting. And I went back, and I felt worse that day at home. Katharine Gun and Martin Bright could be forgiven for fielding Hollywood's overtures with a degree of skepticism. Youre the guy who got the goods on the author of the memo in the NSA, who wrote to GCHQ and said, Were going to bug the U.N. ambassadors.. AMY GOODMAN: Gavin, introduce us to Ben Emmerson. 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. You know, the conservative estimates are 125,000 up to a million. Just trying to figure out what to do next. He didnt know I had leaked this memo. Frequent Fox News guest and conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham announced the death of her husband, Jake Brewer, on Sunday morning in a heartfelt Instagram post . " Gun tails off, as if embarrassed to make too grand a claim for herself. [5] In 1993 she began studying Japanese and Chinese at Durham University. She then went on to get a Masters degree in Global Ethics. The people who went in and smashed it up in 2003, do they watch the news? MARTIN BRIGHT: I did, yes. The diplomats were due to vote on a second United Nations resolution on the prospective 2003 invasion of Iraq. I ask her first if it is gratifying to finally have it out there? Starring Elle Fanning in the title role, the show follows the rise of Catherine as she arrives in Russia as a teenager, naively excited for her arranged wedding night with Peter III (Nicholas . . 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. 15 Years Later: How U.K. Whistleblower Katharine Gun Risked Everything Following the incident, Gun struggled to find work that she loved, and her husband had grown disillusioned with Britain. AMY GOODMAN: And the U.S. is still in Iraq. And if you are working in government, make sure that you are really clued up about what is going on, and think very hard where your responsibility lies.. 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. 'Official Secrets' depicts the inspiring and true events of Katharine Gun I grew up in Taiwan, which was a military dictatorship. KATHARINE GUN: No, she hasnt. Katharine Gun at Bow Street magistrates court in 2003 after being charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, I mean, around that time. [12] A government spokesman said that the decision to drop the case had been made before the defence's demands had been submitted. And nor did the story end. I was teaching Mandarin in the local college in Cheltenham. You hardly told anybody what you had done. Theres no doubt. 'Official Secrets': the story of the British spy who tried to stop a war It was a very big audience, lovely, lovely theater. After they charged me, thats when they tried to deport my husband. How am I possibly going to do that? 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. 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 . You work for the British government, her interrogator said, with a sneer. At first they dont name you, but then they do. And Im saying, Ben, but how did you know, when you called for those documents, that theyd be there? And theres this pause. Gun was outraged by the email, and took a printed copy of it home with her. I ended up, bizarrely, teaching a couple of my former colleagues at GCHQ. There are lots of loose ends here still. And its sothe nonpermanent members, who realized they were being hacked and their personal things were beingin order to try and blackmail them into a vote. Was she immediately frightened of the consequences? But I wasnt thinking about myself really. So, 600,000 Iraqi people died. Photos from Keira Knightley's Best Roles - E! Online You want to know where he is? he said. The Bold True Story Of Official Secrets Katharine Gun - Refinery29 And I didnt want to have a record. KATHARINE GUN: Oh, yeah. "[12], Two years after her trial, Gun wrote an article titled "Iran: Time to Leak",[22] which asked whistleblowers to make public any information about plans for a potential war against Iran. Guns leak was perhaps the last example of whistleblowing that involved a red telephone box and a photocopier, rather than downloads. 'Official Secrets' - The True Story of the British Spy Film - Vice [5], Gun graduated with an upper second-class degree, then took a job as an assistant English teacher with the JET program in Hiroshima, Japan. ", "US plan to bug Security Council: the text", "Let's free the Official Secrets Act from its cold war freeze | Alex Bailin", "Leaking or briefing? And I went back to Martin. Ralph Fiennes, fantastic, wonderful actor. 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 . I think most people have red lines that they wont cross. You know, my initial instinct was Ive got to remain anonymous. He left the Observer not long after the events it describes and now runs the Creative Society, a charity that helps widen access to jobs in the media and the arts to candidates with non-traditional backgrounds. Mary Katharine Ham - Smart Women Smart Money Magazine But I felt this information was explosive, it needed to get out. Before I knew it, I had spent two hours researching Katharine. Shes not wearing tons of makeup. And so, I immediately went home, and Iand at the time, actually, well, my dad was staying with me, because it was Chinese New Year, and he was back from Taiwan, and he was supporting me, so he was at home. Starring Kiera Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, and Ralph Fiennes in pivotal roles, the film is one of the more accurate cinematic explorations of real-life instances. GAVIN HOOD: Well, for me, what I love about the story is actually, on the one hand, its got this huge global political relevance, and it resonates still today. You know, youre not waiting for someone for hours in makeup. And Mr. Ahmed is now the editorial director of the BBC, the revered BBC. Gun is a singular presence, and she answers with characteristic care, speaking slightly haltingly, weighing her words. The film -- quite plausibly -- depicts the charges being dropped against Gun for the simple reason that the British government feared . These were the six "swing nations" on the UN Security Council that could determine whether the UN approved the invasion of Iraq. What was he telling Blair until the 11th hour, where he changed his mind, it seems, at the 11th hour, and said, 'Oh, well, you can justify on the basis of Resolution 678 from 1991,' this fringe idea that no decent international lawyerand Im an ex-lawyerbelieves to be even remotely sensible?. Much of the news desk was opposed. Yeah, I mean, they knew, in fact, GCHQ, I think, because theres this system whereby, you know, before the news goes to print, the government and various organizations get the front pages, so they know whatslike, before it goes to press. I think of journalists as being bullet-proof in a way, she says, but obviously not., She and Bright have done several question and answer sessions in the US after the film has been screened at various festivals. AMY GOODMAN: Whatever you tried to do didnt succeed. 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". And all of a sudden his safe, you know, this civil servant wife is in a whole lot of bother that he never expected to have to deal with. Katharine Gun Official Secrets True Story Interview - Esquire They called for your documents. This is viewer supported news. The implosion continues. Iraq now, nightmare. GAVIN HOOD: Yes, strong women. I had made a film called Eye in the Sky, with the producer Ged Doherty, and we were looking for another project to do together. I wonder what she made of the scattershot download methods of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange? Now, that doesnt mean we shouldnt try to hold them to account. Ellsberg has called Katharine Guns action the most important and courageous leak I have ever seen. My childhood friend, for example, I remember hearing her father was on a blacklist because he had been agitating for the opposition. KATHARINE GUN: to police custody, yes, and kept overnight in a police cell. I wish wed pushed it harder with the boss class within The Observer. You know, in the end, there was a feeling, I think, whatI know that Katharine and I have talked about this a lot. I do not gather intelligence so the government can lie to the British people., Sixteen years have passed since Katharine Gun said those words, but they still ring in the air. Theyre watching, you know, video games and bombs landing on Baghdadshock and awe. Gun discusses her attempt to stop the Iraq War, which is the subject of the new movie Official Secrets. In January that year, Katharine Gun was copied into a classified memo sent to GCHQ by a senior figure in the NSA, its US equivalent. And, of course, I was sitting in the restaurant waiting for her to come in, and I had no idea what to expect. We're looking at the real-life political thriller 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. Now, the defense of necessity is usually used in very more simple circumstances. 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. Dont just swallow what politicians tell you. How Did Catherine the Great's Husband Really Die? - Harper's BAZAAR Truth has a habit of . 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. 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. Katharine Gun is a British Linguist and Iraq War Whistleblower. These folksbecause there are two legal ways you can go to war in international law. But yeah, I mean, I was hugely impressed. GAVIN HOOD: And then, for five days, I interviewed Katharine and just made notes. MARTIN BRIGHT: Not until around the time of the trial. But you areis this part of the film true, where you have the authorities come in and say, Were questioning everyone, because someone here did this.. Authorities had attempted to deport Yasar back to the Middle East. March 29, 2023 Posted by is vimto squash good for you; This is Democracy Now! 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. With no life insurance and unpaid maternity leave on the horizon, Mary Katharine forged ahead with a singular conviction. I was aware I was doing something I wasnt supposed to be doing. Instead, Jake suffered a fatal bicycle accident. Don't let 'the intelligence and the facts be fixed around the policy' this time. She worked at the time at GCHQ, the British equivalent of the NSA." And the memo was like this big red flag as soon as I saw it.. You know, I felt totally at ease in her company. AMY GOODMAN: You succeeded in preventing his deportation. [20] After the charges against her were dropped in 2004, she found it difficult to find a new job. Gun is not active on social media and occasionally participates in small-scale conferences and discussions pertaining to politics. Im Amy Goodman. The relationships that form as a result of Gun's acting are quite inspiring. is katharine gun still married to yasar. And they attempt to deport your husband, who is a? And the situation, the toxic abomination of Brexit in our country, has sort of rehabilitated Blair in a sort of bizarre way. AMY GOODMAN: So then you have Scotland Yard taking over. 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 second act of the movie is concerned with the internal newspaper politics of that decision. At the time, Katharine Gun was working for Britains Government Communications Headquarters, known as GCHQ. And now you go back into work. She becomes the corporate sister-daughter, she dives into the power suit and high-waisted pants or Katharine Hepburn moment. I mean, this is difficult for me to say this, but, for those of your viewers who are interested in what happens in the mediaMartin and I, here we are, doing our bestthe two people involved, who are in the film, ED VULLIAMY: The top people are, respectively, managing editor of the Daily Mail, which is a sort of rather. Yes and no. Many wonder whether Guns young daughter has seen the film or been told of the importance of her mothers extraordinary actions. You're KATHARINE GUN: . 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. [12] At the time, the reasons for the Attorney-General to drop the case were murky. GAVIN HOOD: What she discovers saysis a request from the NSA to GCHQ to hack, bug the private communications and the office communications of U.N. Security Council members, in particular the nonpermanent members, the more junior members. And they failed, in part, I believe, because Katharine Gun leaked that memo. Does he try to treat it? . And they had already taken him down into the custody suite, which is, by the way, where I had been before, Gun revealed. During the season 5 finale of American Idol, Katharine McPhee was named the runner-up against winner Taylor Hicks. 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. [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. Mr. Davies, in his book, has done more recently, AMY GOODMAN: And he said to you, Martin, at least in the film, This will jeopardize our access.. Official Secrets, directed by Gavin Hood, is the third in a loose trilogy of political . Jed didnt sort of put the two of us together. The classified email Gun got leaked to The Observer was evidence of the clandestine attempt of the American intelligence to reportedly seek help from the UK in wiretapping the members of the UN Security Council to motivate them to vote in favor of the invasion of Iraq. And they had already taken him down into the custody suite, which is, by the way, where I had been before. He says, Wait a minute. And after about three weeks of this meeting these extraordinary people, I said to Jed, I think I think I would like to do this. And thats where the story came from. Photo: Kevin RC Wilson. Thats our job. I dont have to be in makeup or wardrobe for hours. And she just said what she loved about Katharine isand I hope this isnt said the wrong way, and I keep saying itshes one of us. The comedown after they dropped the case, and trying to recover from that, was quite stressful.. "[22], In January, 2019, the film Official Secrets, recounting Gun's actions in 2003, received its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, with Keira Knightley playing Gun. AMY GOODMAN: And you actually said you hadnt heard of Katharine Gun at the time, which is interesting in itself, because the story, in a sense, was almost killed for a bit. It was with the help of MP Nigel Jones that Gun finally managed to free Yasar, reasserting his right to stay in the UK. The film captures well the inspired and stubborn efforts of Bright (Matt Smith in the movie), and colleagues Ed Vulliamy (played with brio by Rhys Ifans) and Peter Beaumont (played by Matthew Goode), to stand the story up, based on the few details it betrayed, and to get it into the paper, despite the strong misgivings of the political desk. 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. So, I thought it would be great. Film 'Official Secrets' is the Tip of a Mammoth Iceberg When you think, Oh, well, I wish we tried hard with the Americanwith our American colleagues. As of 2019[update] she has lived in Turkey with her husband and daughter for several years. Mary Katharine Ham's Husband Jake Brewer Killed - Mediaite AMY GOODMAN: And Alton went from The Observer and ultimately made his way, ED VULLIAMY: Via variousvia Rupert Murdochs Times, yes. [2] 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. Katharine Teresa Gun (ne Harwood;[1] born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). And whats so marvelous about what Gavins done is to just sort of bring this back into the present. [11], The case came to court on 25 February 2004. In its absence, Tony Blair won another election in 2005. I hope when shes ready for this story, she will [see the film]. We sat in the bar of a city centre hotel, and talked about the ancient history of 2003. KATHARINE GUN: Mm-hmm. But that is unbelievably difficult now especially in the digital world.. And he says, Well, I called Elizabeth Wilmshurst, who is the assistant attorney general, who had resigned. Why did you drop the case? "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. Youre, KATHARINE GUN: And then I was taken away. We didnt talk about politics much. 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: So you just thought this was routine. After the case was dropped I did some media for 24 hours and then I immediately decided to run away and hide and not pursue the story any more. AMY GOODMAN: So, before the time of the trial, Katharine, youthey have clamped down on you. 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. AMY GOODMAN: But what caused you to say no? No need for weapons of mass destruction arguments. GAVIN HOOD: Theres an outrage. I heard things that stuck. Do you think shed meet with me? Because I think we were both a little skeptical of each other. 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? It wasn't that she was naive . This is Democracy Now! The online Drudge Report used the fact that the reproduced NSA memo used English spelling to cast doubt on its veracity. Somebody says, Lord Goldsmith, the defense to your charge against Katharine Gun is they want your documents. Case dropped. You dont know who the GCHQ person is. I am currently reading a book about how to blow the whistle. diamond a ranch new mexico hunting using the weber burger press what does it mean when a willie wagtail follows you. Few are aware that her husband had also been thrown into troubled waters when Gun blew the lid off the alleged spy efforts in 2003. KATHARINE GUN: Oh, no. Some people have very low tolerance of wrongdoing, whether it is fiddling expenses, or whatever. I was calling Nigel Jones, my MP. First day, what did you feel? 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. Woman who tried to stop a war. In the very typical British manner, we just pretended we had never met, she recalled. We continue our conversation now with Katharine Gun, the whistleblower and former employee of GCHQ. delivered to your inbox every day! Its all so resonant. KATHARINE GUN: Need I say more? AMY GOODMAN: What was it called? But, I mean, I ended up being a whistleblower myself within that organization. But my closest friends stuck by me.. Published on May 3, 2021 08:23 PM. And really, you know, she had so many questions for me, and she really genuinely wanted to know about the whole situation. This is her story. Youre breaking the speed limit. Read More: Is Official Secrets a True Story? [5] After contemplating the email over the weekend, Gun gave the email to a friend who was acquainted with journalists. Copy may not be in its final form. How the NSA Pushed Iraq Invasion - accuracy.org The repercussions of a lot of what happened are still being felt today.. And nor do newspaper stories. ED VULLIAMY: Yes. They may have chosen to push those boundaries, but they did know the difference, and they knew that it mattered if they were caught. MARTIN BRIGHT: Well, I mean, I think at that time, you knowwe knew, I suppose, by that point, that our paths were destined to cross. AMY GOODMAN: And so, you decide to go back and revealwho was it that was questioning you? Interview with Joel Looper by Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer [3], Katharine Harwood moved to Taiwan in 1977 with her parents, Paul and Jan Harwood. Shes pregnant. Never used in the idea of, youve broken the law, breached the Official Secrets Act. But on the other hand, its just a deeply personal story aboutand I hope Katharine will forgive me saying thisabout an ordinary person, like one of us, who does something extraordinary. Plead out. AMY GOODMAN: Who is played in the film by? And yeah, it was absolutely terrifying. Iraq War Whistle Blower Katharine Gun Shares Her Story Official Secrets: A Conversation With Director Gavin Hood Katharine Gun (ne Harwood), 47, is married to Yasar Gn, a Turkish Kurd, with whom she has a 13-year old daughter. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Katharine Gun: Ten years on what happened to the woman who revealed In the very typical British manner, we just pretended we had never met.. How dodo they join the dots? Now, what we were doing when we were breaking this story was we were attempting to show that our governments had lied to us. Shes just wearing her jeans and jumpers, you know, to work. 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.
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