KATHARINE GUN: Youre putting me on the spot now. I felt guiltylike, I leaked this memo, and now theres going to be a witch hunt for the person who did it, and Im not going to be able to deny it. She believes that her leak probably finished off the second resolution, turning Chile and Mexico against it. Now, I asked around. But nonetheless, you wanted to do that. The advice was that, by accepting what she'd done was illegal, the jail time might end up reduced. 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. to your inbox each morning. . "My boys," the "Waitress" actress captioned the snap . AMY GOODMAN: And talk about whatI mean, you risked everything. Copy may not be in its final form. When Katharine Gun came across a memo while working for the British government in 2003, her whole world changed. 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. You didnt know who Katharine Gun was, who had leaked it, but you had the story of the memo that was going to get the goods on these U.N. Security Council members, which would force them to vote for the invasion of Iraq. I gather intelligence so that the government can protect the British people. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! She revealed the dirty tricks on the UN Iraq war vote to the world. Were 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. But you see this memo that went out to everyone in your area. KATHARINE GUN: Well, no, I was in a shock when I saw it. Blogus by Themeansar. Katharine smuggled the printed email out of GCHQ and leaked it to the media, on the 2nd March it was . I mean, you were the man of the hour. You tried to call. 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. The true story of British Intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun, who leaked a top-secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation. Record Coal Prices Help Break Strike. The plan was to persuade them simply to abstain by piling up enough votes from other countries. AMY GOODMAN: And the idea was they would figure out which way they were going to vote, so that they could sway them. 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. For eight months she was bailed and bailed again, repeatedly. A New Film Tells Her Story, Part 2: 15 Years Later: How U.K. Whistleblower Katharine Gun Risked Everything to Leak a Damning Iraq War Memo, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License, Senate Holds Equal Rights Amendment Hearing as U.S. Court Denies Attempt to Include in Constitution, Bola Tinubu of Ruling Party Wins Nigeria Election Amid Low Turnout, Rigging Charges, Hundreds of Iranian Schoolgirls Suffered Toxic Poisonings in Last Four Months, Biden Names Labor Advocate Julie Su to Lead Labor Dept. And I felt it was explosive information. Guns story being told in Official Secrets. 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. Raising the issue with a manager briefly crossed Katharine's mind, but time was limited the threat of war was escalating fast and ultimately this operation had already been signed off by British top brass. MARTIN BRIGHT: It was NSA 'dirty tricks' at the U.N. Yeah, yeah. This presented a problem. This article was originally published inThe Spectators UK magazine. Who Is Yasar Gun? When Gun exposed that the U.S. and U.K. wanted information on United Nations diplomats to persuade the vote on the invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush was President of the United States and Tony Blair was the British Prime Minister of the U.K. Guns information affected Blairs politics and government at the time, but he has seemingly recovered from the incident. AMY GOODMAN: That was a clip from Official Secrets. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.orgPlease consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! You wanted to stop 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 . She tried to stop the impending . Whistleblower Katharine Gun and journalist Martin Bright are interviewed for their new movie Official Secrets for the films LFF screening. The invasion proceeded more or less on time with a coalition of the willing led by the United States and Britain. This is Democracy Now! MARTIN BRIGHT: Was one of the six nations. Now, the political thriller, In case you arent too familiar with Guns story, I dont want to give too much away about what the movie shows. As a young translator at GCHQ, she leaked a secret email. Katherine Louisa Ryan was born on June 30, 1983, to Finbar and Julie McCarthy in the city of Sarnia in southwestern Ontario, Canada. BEN EMMERSON: Your marriage will be interrogated. She struggled to find work after being sacked by GCHQ but she has no regrets. He had no regrets whatsoever about removing Saddam. Gun, a translator with the British intelligence service known as Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), received a document just before the war from an NSA manager, seeking British intelligence support in spying on . And those six swing nations, their delegates, they wanted , AMANPOUR: When you say swing nations, they were once at that the U.S. and the U.K. were trying to get on side . So, we had a terrible moment where we had seen organizations follow the story up. Please do your part today. Starring: Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode. A few weeks passed and no story appeared. Soon after, they moved to Turkey in 2011, and for the most part, the family has stayed away from the public . Right away, Katharine knew the significance of this message. The original content of this program is licensed under a. 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. Theyre one of Hollywoods brightest starsand most troubled actors. Members of the Security Council were outraged and any chance of a UN resolution in favour of war collapsed. AMANPOUR: And that spoke was this memo that had , AMANPOUR: been leaked to you and then you leaked it to the press, not leaked but delivered to you . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. AMY GOODMAN: Twenty-seven years old, working for thewell, for British intelligence. It would show that there isnt a double standard. Official Secrets is released in cinemas on the 18th of October, 2019. 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. And they attempt to deport your husband, who is a? TINTIN: You gather information from peoples phones and computers, and you feed that to your clients. It seemed as if the decision to go to war had already been made, that all the diplomacy then taking place was a charade. And it was. In 2003, Katharine Gun exposed a plot by U.S. security officials to spy on United Nations members as they ramped up pressure to secure a resolution to go to war with Iraq, and she leaked the . After university and a couple of years teaching in Japan, she was back in Britain and looking for a job. Release date September 13, 2019 The email wasnt even meant for her. Ten years ago, a young Mandarin specialist at GCHQ, the government's surveillance centre in Cheltenham, did something extraordinary. Just put me through. And, sure enough, Frank Koza. That was a good brain moment. It is vital to speak up in a democracy. 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 Gun. 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 . More than that, Koza wasnt just asking for information on what these ambassadors and their governments were planning, he seemed to want dirt. 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. That does it for our show. Amid safety concerns, and anxiety over the fate of a $200 million movie, The Johnny DeppAmber Heard Defamation Trial: The Makings of a Remarkable Moment in American Celebrity. She found the contents absolutely stunning. ONLINE:YouTube: http://youtube.com/democracynow Facebook: http://facebook.com/democracynow Twitter: https://twitter.com/democracynowInstagram: http://instagram.com/democracynowSoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/democracynow iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/democracy-now!-audio/id73802554 Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe I filed that story seven times to The Observer. A translator for UK intelligence agency GCHQ, Gun read a brief from the US National Security Agency urging its British sister organisation to spy on members of the UN Security Council, to gain influence i n a vote on whether to sanction an invasion of Iraq. Gun leaked the memo to the press, 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. It looked like a very exciting story. AMY GOODMAN: And who were these six countries? It didnt just end when George Bush said, Mission accomplished. Its heartbreaking that its affecting so many lives, and for what? It would show that when our politicians break the law they are held accountable. There is no chance of such a war crimes trial. Therefore, on August 27, 2002, he was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder by a jury and subsequently sentenced to death. She explained that when she was first arrested, her name wasnt released publicly for eight months. KATHARINE GUN: Governments change. 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.". Yeah. The Man Who Deleted His Past Before He Was Found Dead. Hilary Duff and husband Matthew Koma enjoy adorable family day out with their . And thats really where the story started for Ed and myself on The Observer, was process of verification. List of Wanted Pages on Real Life Heroes Wiki. AMY GOODMAN: So, you call Ed, and you say, Can you track down this guy? Among many other things. Katharine Gun was a translator at GCHQ, when she received an email in her inbox from Frank Koza, a leading figure in the American National Security Agency. Yes, in 2003, Gun was working for British intelligencethats GCHQ, the intelligence agency similar to the NSA, the National Security Agencywhen she leaked a memo revealing the United States was collaborating with Britain in collecting sensitive information to hold over U.N. Security Council members to get them to support the Iraq War. "It worries me, it should worry us all. I was in Baghdad at the time, watching live coverage of the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, arguing for a second resolution at the UN. Youre sitting at the equivalent of the NSA. AMY GOODMAN: So, bugging these six countries. [1]Katharine Gun arbetade som versttare fr Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). A new film, Official Secrets, tells the story of her actions and subsequent arrest. I think the film will help to focus people on those issues again. As noted in online sources, the former spy's birth year is recorded to be 1974. 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. Gun says the film-makers were not projecting backwards what we learned later. 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. 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. When she was acquitted in 2004, it was difficult for her to find a new job that she liked. And then they changed their headline, from Condi Rice orders operation at the NSA and GCHQ to British newspaper prints fake memo.. You walk in. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. I was like, Mmm. When she arrived, escorted by security, all her colleagues knew too. The western leading man, Sam Elliott, first met his famous actress wife, Katharine Ross, on the set of a movie. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. There was speculation that this was done to keep the governments legal advice on the war a secret, though that has been denied. Woman who tried to stop a war. Gun, youre a spy. MARTIN BRIGHT: Well, I did. Tell us the moment. And at the time, The Observer newsroom wasand The Observer itself was split, because some people supported the war, some people didnt. I do not gather intelligence so the government can lie to the British people. The whole issue of Iraq has left us with a legacy, which is not good. And your memo, that you had leaked, was right front and center. 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 . KATHARINE GUN: Well, they dropped the charges against me. 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. The following Monday, she walked out of work, a printed copy of the email folded up and hidden in her handbag. The diplomats were due to vote on a second United . That contact had connections with the antiwar movement. I work for the British people. KATHARINE GUN: Well, I didnt do anything immediately, but I went home. 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. Katharine Gun. 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. Ross weighs about 50 kg or 110 lbs. Yes, in 2003, Gun was working for British intelligencethat's GCHQ, the intelligence agency similar to the . KATHARINE GUN: Yeah, Mandarin Chinese, linguist. 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. 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. Life carried on. I work for the British people. View this post on Instagram. Katharine Teresa Gun (ne Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). "Public opinion was just so obviously against the invasion that I thought it wouldn't happen," she recalls. I had found a source called Mel Goodman, namesake of yours, who was the ex-head of the Soviet desk at the CIA, had kept his clearance. "Tony Blair was so obsessed with popularity ratings, I thought that would really affect him.". KATHARINE GUN: Detective, I dont object to being asked to collect information that could help prevent a terror attack. The defense would have argued that, at the time I leaked the memo, I believed the war was illegal. Also with us, the director of Official Secrets, Gavin Hood. Her late husband, Tom, a former special agent of the FBI and one-time head of . The morning of Friday the 31st of January, 2003 started out just like any other. Currently, Katharine Ross is 82 years old as she was born on 29th January 1940. Its 15 years later. On one trip to the authorities, they detained Yasar. Yasar Gun : All you do is listen to people talking! It is my fault and I'm sorry. "Yeah, I suppose so," she says. 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