And I justyou know, I just collapsed. I do not gather intelligence so the government can lie to the British people. With no plan and no contacts, a duty solicitor who was well out of her depth was called. She was the real-life translator who photocopied . GUN: Well, no, I was a recipient alongside about a hundred other recipients of that e-mail. The terror of that period took a toll on Gun, who suffered from PTSD for years. It was too dangerous to make the 20-minute drive from the airport to the British base in Basra. AMY GOODMAN: And then everyoneFOX, CNNand then they all cancel. He had no regrets whatsoever about removing Saddam. And truth was having a hard time at The Observer at that point. 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. 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. The film stars Ma. As he spoke at the base, a volley of mortars came in. But we werewithin The Observer, AMY GOODMAN: Of course, thats the time you should run the fastest to the editor, but. Sixteen years on, the words are still seared into memory. Some of it was to do with complications over an unfortunate spell check within the memo. AMY GOODMAN: Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill. Katherine is the eldest of three sisters. When she was acquitted in 2004, it was difficult for her to find a new job that she liked. You didnt. 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. Gun is in her forties now and living quietly in Turkey. ED VULLIAMY: Well, oh, indeed, brilliantly played his subject. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. AMANPOUR: by somebody within your organization. Your viewers will recall them; I hope not, for their sake, but some of them will. Within half an hour, the prosecution had decided to drop its case, for reasons that to this day remain mysterious. The Man Who Deleted His Past Before He Was Found Dead. And I knew that I needed help. 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. Currently, Katharine Ross is 82 years old as she was born on 29th January 1940. This information could be huge for the growing anti-war effort Katharine thought it might even help put an end to talk of invasion once and for all. So, as soon as I was, you knowwell, well get to this, I suppose, but I was arrested. This article was originally published inThe Spectators UK magazine. And I felt it was explosive information. 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. Gun, 29, was . She headed up to Yorkshire and went into hiding, as a media circus descended onto Cheltenham to find her. KATHARINE GUN: If we do not go public, we would be conceding that no one can ever tell the people when their government is lying. It is my fault and I'm sorry. Her case became awidespread controversy among activists, and many people stepped forward to urge the government to drop the case. BEN EMMERSON: [played by Ralph Fiennes] You might need our help. Katharine was charged with an offense under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1989 on 13 November 2003. 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. The invasion proceeded more or less on time with a coalition of the willing led by the United States and Britain. GCHQ began a leak inquiry, interviewing everyone. (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. On Tuesday, it was her turn to be questioned. These actors are so clever, Amy. Katharine smuggled the printed email out of GCHQ and leaked it to the media, on the 2nd March it was . Ezra Millers Messiah Delusions: Inside. But, many in the U.S. might not know the story of the 2003, In 2003, Gun worked for GCHQ, the British government agency that is equivalent to the National Security Agency across the pond. She believes that her leak probably finished off the second resolution, turning Chile and Mexico against it. After the meeting, the Brits and the Americans shook hands on the tarmac and walked to their planes. A few weeks passed and no story appeared. KATHARINE GUN: I translated signals intelligence, and I reported anything I thought might be of interest to my clients. And it was a very collaborativeit was a very collaborative place. 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 . delivered to your inbox every day? So, what did it say and what was your decision-making process? Five years later after her fourth divorce, she married her fifth husband, Sam Elliott. We came up with an idea for a defence that I acted out of necessity but generally there isn't one for breaching the Official Secrets Act.". 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. And also, the memo itself contained language that was consistent with intelligence service language, so we had experts look at that, as well. "Even thinking about it all would cause me anxiety," she says, "but now I am ready." It is tough for me to be in the public domain againbut I felt like it was a good thing. AMY GOODMAN: You said, May I please speak to Mr. Koza?, MARTIN BRIGHT: May I please speak to Mr. Koza? And they said, We dont give out names. And he says, Excuse me, Mr. Bright.. "I'd have a criminal record for doing what was right." I work for the British people. 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. 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. Theyre basically cooking it. Katharine Gun : Yas, I understand why you are angry. But it seemed inevitable. I did, rather naively, try calling the press office and getting an interview. Two, there is a shadow intelligence operation going on through the Pentagon, all your favorite names on this programDouglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle. Gavin, who worked on the screenplay and is the director. There was also the question of the plea: would she admit to being guilty or argue her innocence? Today, she lives in Turkey, with her husband and their child. Youve got CNN, youve got BBC, youve got everyone on the line. Youre sitting at the equivalent of the NSA. In his memoir of office, Decision Points, George W. Bush writes about going to see Tony Blair in the Azores in the last days before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The former British intelligence officer leaked a document to the press that announced an illegal NSA spy operation created to convince the UN Security Council to approve the 2003 invasion of Iraq. AMY GOODMAN: As the British government says its identified the person who leaked cables that forced out the British ambassador to the United States for calling President Trump inept, we look at the real-life political thriller of a British intelligence specialist who risked everything to blow the whistle on U.S. dirty tricks at the United Nations in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion. I do not gather intelligence so that the government can lie to the British people. 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. She was arrested and held at the police station in Cheltenham for 24 hours before being bailed. Again, this is before the Iraq War. . 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 . AMY GOODMAN: So, that was Katharine Gun back in 2004. 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 was sort of I felt like I was blinkered as a horse. It was a crisis meeting because they had failed to get a second UN resolution, to give legal cover for the war. Katharine Gun is a for mer linguist and analyst at Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency and an Iraq war whistle-blower. Gun also received the Sam Adams Award, which is awarded to intelligence agents who take a stand for ethics and integrity. Ross weighs about 50 kg or 110 lbs. The whole issue of Iraq has left us with a legacy, which is not good. KATHARINE GUN: And then I mailed it to a contact, who then passed it on to a journalist, who then passed it on to Martin Bright. 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. And it was a terrible moment when I had to look in my drawer and find it. These worries crystalized when GCHQ sent her to San Diego for a conference and she was invited on to an American aircraft carrier. Katherine Louisa Ryan was born on June 30, 1983, to Finbar and Julie McCarthy in the city of Sarnia in southwestern Ontario, Canada. whistleblower and former specialist for Britains Government Communications Headquarters. The morning of Friday the 31st of January, 2003 started out just like any other. Therefore, on August 27, 2002, he was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder by a jury and subsequently sentenced to death. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.orgPlease consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! It was a crisis meeting because they had failed to get a second UN resolution, to give legal cover for the war. And I said, you know, So, what is this? I asked Mr. Goodman, I asked others, Can you help me find this guy? Because you had to get an extension number. So we at least hadwe at least had a lead. Gun was cleared of a charge under the Official Secrets Act after being . She had never planned a career in intelligence and was slightly surprised to find herself working at GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters), Britains electronic spying agency in Cheltenham. It would show that there isnt a double standard. Former British intelligence officer Katharine Gun didnt set out to become a whistle-blower. All rights reserved. "My boys," the "Waitress" actress captioned the snap . But its not hard to guess from the, In 2013, Gun spoke with journalist Martin Bright, who published Guns leaked memo and plays a major role in the film, in an interview published by. Im Amy Goodman. KATHARINE GUN: Well, I was just appalled. When Katharine blew the secret off the American-British spy efforts in 2003, her husband was thrown into troubled waters, which few people knew. And then, in November, came the call from her lawyer. AMY GOODMAN: Tony Blair was the prime minister of Britain at the time. Just put me through. And, sure enough, Frank Koza. That was a good brain moment. ; Democrats Reintroduce, Mississippi Enacts Transgender Healthcare Ban for Youth Amid Spate of Anti-Trans Laws in Red States, Tennessee Gov. Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts . 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]. AMY GOODMAN: But what did you see in your email? It isn't a crime, it's a responsibility.". This is the trailer. I mean, my first reaction was shock and anger. Yes. '", Meanwhile, the war in Iraq had already started. e-mail; 239. shares. And then, one by one, the American networks pulled out. It was particularly explosive in Chile, which has obviously been used to American intelligence. I mean, you were the man of the hour. But, in 2003, when she came across an email suggesting that the United States and the U.K . Yasur is a Turkish Kurd who is married to 47-year-old Katharine. As noted in online sources, the former spy's birth year is recorded to be 1974. At the time, I was really focused on the Iraq invasion issue, Gun told Vanity Fair this month, ahead of the August 30 premiere of Official Secrets, an intelligence thriller recounting this terrifying chapter of her life and starring Keira Knightley. The AFI Life Achievement recipient discusses her most memorable filmsand what moviegoers actually misremember. The defense would have argued that, at the time I leaked the memo, I believed the war was illegal. KATHARINE GUN: Actually, time-wise, I was bailed for eight months. Courtroom porn and social media have turned innocent bystanders into a mass of mudslingers. 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. AMY GOODMAN: Thats the trailer for the new movie Official Secrets, based on the true-life story of whistleblower Katharine Gun. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, so, initially, we were quite nervous. Gun believed that this would be illegal, a breach of the Vienna Convention governing diplomatic relations. And so it was decided: on the stand she'd state her innocence and hope for the best. If people knew about this, nobody would support this invasion.. Its like hes more me than I am. So, naturally, it's Katharine Gun who's being punished. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. For more on this incredible story and the real-life thriller that is coming out on August 30th in movie theaters around the countryour guest, Katharine Gun, is played by Keira Knightleywere joined by Katharine Gun herself, the whistleblower, former employee of Britains global surveillance center, GCHQ, played by actress Keira Knightley, yes. The diplomats were from member states of the 2003 Security Council, and they were due to vote on a second United Nations resolution on the future 2003 invasion of Iraq. After a long weekend of contemplation, Gunwho had been one of about 100 people to receive the memodecided to print out the letter and send it to a journalist via an intermediary. A hard time at the Observer at that point the words are still seared into memory but was... We dont give out names the Brits and the U.K the base, a duty solicitor was... 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