Gun sits down with Christiane to share her story. The morning of Friday the 31st of January, 2003 started out just like any other. I actually felt like, if I do this anonymously, nobody will realize its me and Ill carry on as usual. But about a month after leaking the letter, Gun was stunned to see that The Observer had published the document in full on its front page. MARTIN BRIGHT: The paperthe editorial line was supporting the war, but obviously there were those of us within the paper who didnt. It wasn't the news Katharine had been preparing for. Two, there is a shadow intelligence operation going on through the Pentagon, all your favorite names on this programDouglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle. In 2019, she finally returned to the general public eye for the promotional press occasions for Official Secrets. JACQUELINE JONES: [played by Katherine Kelly] Intelligence may be being manipulated to take this country to war. Husband: Not Available: Sibling: Not Available: Children: Not Available: Katharine Gun Net Worth. 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. Katharine Gun explains how she exposed a plot by U.S. security officials to spy on United Nations members in 2003. 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? 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 . "It got to the stage where I was certain the email I'd leaked wouldn't be needed, that it would never surface.". In 2003, Katharine Gun was working for Britains Government Communications Headquarters, known as GCHQ, the intelligence agency similar to the National Security Agency here, when she opened a top-secret NSA memorandum. Theyre one of Hollywoods brightest starsand most troubled actors. That level of pressure, stress and attention took its toll. ; Democrats Reintroduce, Mississippi Enacts Transgender Healthcare Ban for Youth Amid Spate of Anti-Trans Laws in Red States, Tennessee Gov. People are cheering you. The whole issue of Iraq has left us with a legacy, which is not good. interviewed Katharine Gun. It was only September 2002 but the carrier was about to leave for the Gulf. The Americans had sent GCHQ a request to spy on the UN ambassadors of the six countries with the important, perhaps swing, votes. Revealed: US dirty tricks to win vote on Iraq war. She became the spy who tried to stop a war. She is played (with simmering intensity) by Keira Knightley. MARTIN BRIGHT: It was cock-up rather than conspiracy. "I immediately felt like I was in danger," she says, describing her internal panic, the desperation to look calm and to not draw any attention to herself. Well, now Katharine Guns story is being told in the new film Official Secrets, starring Keira Knightley. 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, 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 . AMY GOODMAN: So, you call Ed, and you say, Can you track down this guy? Among many other things. Her life had been turned upside down, and for what? Hundreds of thousands, millions of people have been affected by it, and those effects continue to this day. A year after she walked down the aisle, Ross gave birth to their only child, Cleo Rose, on September 17, 1984, in Malibu, California. Theyre lying about what their motives arethat immediately made me think, I have got to get this out. Marcia Mitchell. She'd been reading up on the preparations being made for a US-led invasion and wasn't convinced by the arguments; images of the first Gulf War she'd seen in her teenage years had forever been seared onto her mind. KATHARINE GUN: Well, they dropped the charges against me. Katherine Ryan's Family. What Really Happened During the Making of. On the night of the 19th of March, 2003, the bombs began to fall. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. And Rhys Ifans plays the outraged insanity rather well, to my embarrassment, but he does a good job. 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 They were going use information gathered from the intelligence to either bribe or blackmail them into voting for this war. Nerves tingling, she went home. Gun did not seek martyrdom and wasnt searching for evidence to stop the war: the email fell into her lap. "But there are things you have to do not for the result but for the principle, because they are right.". And they attempt to deport your husband, who is a? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you work for the British government? 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 . AMY GOODMAN: Twenty-seven years old, working for thewell, for British intelligence. It stunned Katharine Gun at the time she discovered this duplicity during her work at GCHQ, and it still stuns to see it displayed on the screen, especially actual news reports from the period. She is known for having exposed a plan by the US government to spy on the United Nations shortly before a vote concerning America's illegal invasion of Iraq. Together they have a 13-year-old daughter. Gun, youre a spy. "I need to have a word with you," she gulped. KATHARINE GUN: My husband had absolutely nothing to do with this. It was a Friday when I saw the email. Official Secrets is released in cinemas on the 18th of October, 2019. I was like, Mmm. Her case became awidespread controversy among activists, and many people stepped forward to urge the government to drop the case. The diplomats were due to vote on a second United . [1]Katharine Gun arbetade som versttare fr Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). 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 . MARTIN BRIGHT: Well, but only with a story that you know is true. AMY GOODMAN: But the spelling of it is British spelling. Yeah. is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. We welcome you all to Democracy Now! JERRY: [played by Chris Reilly] Hes a Muslim. The plan was to persuade them simply to abstain by piling up enough votes from other countries. For eight months she was bailed and bailed again, repeatedly. This is Democracy Now! 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 wanted to stop the Iraq war. Theyd already escorted him down to the custody suite and begun the process. 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. Katharine Gun (Katharine Teresa Harwood) was born on 1974 in United Kingdom, is a Linguist. Official Secrets is a movie about real-life whistleblower Katharine Gun, a relatively low-level British Intelligence agent (she was a translator in the Government Communications Headquarters) who . You tried to call. KATHARINE GUN: The idea was to gather information that they could use to bribe them or, you know, threaten them into voting yes for the resolution. Just put me through. And, sure enough, Frank Koza. That was a good brain moment. Due to the pandemic, the event was then canceled. In February 2003, Britain and the US began pushing for a new resolution that would give Saddam a month to disarm or face war. It has been suggested that the government was desperate to ensure that documents containing advice about the legality of the war which the defence had requested would not be made public. So, what did it say and what was your decision-making process? Her name is Katharine Gun.Watch Part 1 of this discussion: https://youtu.be/u6n1VFDJ3CY#DemocracyNowDemocracy Now! When she leaks an NSA memo to the press exposing the American covert manipulation of allies, she will be forced into the spotlight. 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. Sign up for our Daily News Digest today! 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 . Katharine Teresa Gun (ne Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). The Crown Prosecution Service was about to charge her. You think this is real, but you do have to track it down. A new film, Official Secrets, tells the story of her actions and subsequent arrest. When charges were officially pressed, Guns identity was revealed too. Gun says the film-makers were not projecting backwards what we learned later. As the build-up to war continued, Gun felt increasing dismay. BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Someone has betrayed their government and their country. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://democracynow.orgPlease consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! 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. 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. 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. delivered to your inbox every day? August 31 2019, 5:30 a.m. Keira Knightley, as whistleblower Katharine Gun, in the 2019 movie "Official Secrets." Photo: Nick Wall/IFC. Several weeks later she was surprised to see the email she had printed out on the front page of a newspaper. Katharine Gun. KATHARINE GUN: Yeah, Mandarin Chinese, linguist. If people knew about this, nobody would support this invasion.. But within days, Bush declared he no longer needed UN backing and invaded anyway. Two days later, she gave the email to a friend who had several contacts in the press. 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 acclaimed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. The UKs own intelligence, published by Downing Street, produced the Sun headline: Brits 45 mins from doom.. TINTIN: With respect, Mrs. People hid under the tables. Tweet. How frustrating it was for Gun to sit in her modest home next to her husband, and see fiction portrayed on the evening news. Katharine spent that night in a cell underneath the local police station. In bugging, in spying on, in eavesdropping, wiretapping, whatever? Soon after, they moved to Turkey in 2011, and for the most part, the family has stayed away from the public . AMY GOODMAN: And then everyoneFOX, CNNand then they all cancel.