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. what is the true story behind the Keira Knightley film? - The Sun AMY GOODMAN: And then what happened? AMY GOODMAN: And so, you decide to go back and revealwho was it that was questioning you? You werent particularly worried. AMY GOODMAN: And the U.S. is still in Iraq. And when he didnt come out, I was panicking, you know, and I ran inside. Katharine Gun Official Secrets True Story Interview - Esquire Mary Katherine Higdon of Griffin, Georgia, was arrested for the murder of her live-in boyfriend, Steven Freeman. AMY GOODMAN: You mean period dramas of strong women have to be a hundred years ago. But it may say more about the BBC than it does about him, that with this track record you can get to the top. 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. And whats so marvelous about what Gavins done is to just sort of bring this back into the present. So I really didnt want any of that to be scrutinized because it just felt too vulnerable, stated Gun, on why she chose to retreat from the limelight once the dust had settled. Her upbringing later led her to describe herself as a "third culture kid". And I didnt want to have a record. In the movie, her husband (Adam Bakri) is initially portrayed as a civilian, perceiving her job to be mundane. Its so great to have you all with us. And they had already taken him down into the custody suite, which is, by the way, where I had been before, Gun revealed. You know, we had it in October 2002. So, I thought it would be great. And I managed to get through to his assistant. ED VULLIAMY: At the time, yes, the editor and the political. 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. I mean, I literallyI couldnt eat. How dodo they join the dots? You know, I felt totally at ease in her company. MARTIN BRIGHT: I have an abiding interest in the link between religion and conflict. 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 . Woman who tried to stop a war. Now, the defense of necessity is usually used in very more simple circumstances. AMY GOODMAN: But what caused you to say no? You were just waiting. 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 . Photos from Keira Knightley's Best Roles - E! Online And really, you know, she had so many questions for me, and she really genuinely wanted to know about the whole situation. [19] 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. AMY GOODMAN: the person in charge of news. We are defending ourselves. as Katharine knows, it can be tougher to be right than to be wrong sometimes, if on those lucky occasions that one is right. But anyway. 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 . In 2003, This U.K. Whistleblower Almost Stopped the Iraq - Truthout We still dont know who within the American administration ordered the operation. Given my experience I would want to hear what happened from the horses mouth, I think.. I met her in August in Durham, when she was on a brief visit to see her father. She urged "those in a position to do so to disclose information which relates to this planned aggression; legal advice, meetings between the White House and other intelligence agencies, assessments of Iran's threat level (or better yet, evidence that assessments have been altered), troop deployments and army notifications. The Observers front page story on 2 March 2003. I was teaching Mandarin in the local college in Cheltenham. Is Official Secrets Based on a True Story? - The Cinemaholic We continue our conversation now with Katharine Gun, the whistleblower and former employee of GCHQ. Ralph Fiennes plays Ben Emmerson. And they say, Were not even going to vote on this resolution. And the next day, we invade. Dr. Why did you come in? This is her story. You know, I felt vindicated. Gun leaked the memo to the press in 2003, 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. For the past nine years she has been living in Turkey with her Turkish husband and their 11-year-old daughter. You work for the British government, her interrogator said, with a sneer. All rights reserved. I was called up on Tuesday. When Brights story originally landed there were concentrated efforts to rubbish it in the gung-ho parts of the media. I think a lot of our current issues go back to that time. But, I mean, I ended up being a whistleblower myself within that organization. "[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. Shes out. Attempts were made by the authorities to deport her husband, who grew disillusioned with Britain. Whatever you think of Kamala Harris, you can say, Which America do you want? 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.. 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. AMY GOODMAN: Were you actually in the car with him, waiting for him to go in for his check-in? Katharine Gun - Wikipedia But he certainly was suggesting that people would know. You know, lets say Iyoure a bit of a gambler, arent you? I mean, we had imagined all sorts of things about who our source might be. I said, I think Ive got a scoop, Martin. What does she hope people will take from the film? [6] Gun had previously been unaware of GCHQ, later saying that "I didn't have much idea about what they didI was going into it pretty much blind. Official Secrets, directed by Gavin Hood, is the third in a loose trilogy of political . Hood uses chemistry among each character to bring them to life. Among them were Reverend Jesse Jackson, Daniel Ellsberg (the US government official who leaked the Pentagon Papers), and Congressman Dennis Kucinich. AMY GOODMAN: Martin, you went on to work with Tony Blair, didnt you? AMY GOODMAN: The San Francisco Film Festival. Was she immediately frightened of the consequences? Almost a million Iraqis. The love between Katharine and her husband, Yasar Gun, is undeniable, and the punishment they must to endure together is heart stopping. 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. But she sails in with Gavin and comes straight up to me and goes, Oh, Katharine! and gives me a big hug. Iraq war whistleblower Katharine Gun: 'Truth always matters' Of course I did, yes. So her moral certainty was rooted in those formative experiences? I hadnt realised the extent to which Martin in particular had gone out on a limb for this at the paper. But jokes aside, the reason she said to methe reason I constantly find myself going. And all we were focused on was what might it felt like in this moment to have been Katharine. Did everything change? But that is unbelievably difficult now especially in the digital world.. And so, we went down together to internal security, and they called Scotland Yard. 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. They may have chosen to push those boundaries, but they did know the difference, and they knew that it mattered if they were caught. I mean, really, these people need to be held accountable for what theyve done. I think the number isand forgive me, I should have the figurethree-and-a-half thousand British and American soldiers, 37,000 wounded. Her act of whistleblowing cost her a career as a translator at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), made her stand in a highly publicized trial for violating the Official Secrets Act, and reduced her chances of getting another job due to being an internationally recognized whistleblower. Hes repackaged himself as sort of the European. Fox News' Kat Timpf Marries Cameron Friscia: See the Photos - People GAVIN HOOD: By Ralph Fiennes. And, with great respect, I think he did. Do you think shed meet with me? Because I think we were both a little skeptical of each other. You know, I mean, once itsif you plead guilty and you go away for three months, and its, you know, maybe not so bad as going away for two years, but still I would have had a record. 4 4.Katharine Gun: Ten years on what happened to the woman who 5 5.Iraq War Whistle Blower Katharine Gun Shares Her Story | Video - PBS; 6 6.GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun speaks out | Daily Mail Online; 7 7.15 Years Later: How U.K. Whistleblower Katharine Gun - YouTube; 8 8.Katharine Gun & Martin Bright Interview - Official . Ellsberg has called Katharine Guns action the most important and courageous leak I have ever seen. By Ben Davies BBC News Online political staff at the TUC in Brighton There is something about Katharine Gun that makes her seem an unlikely candidate for whistleblowing. And that if the perpetrators in these situations get away scot-free, that has a knock-on effect. But my closest friends stuck by me.. 'Official Secrets' depicts the inspiring and true events of Katharine Gun You know, youre not waiting for someone for hours in makeup. "[12] In May 2019 The Guardian stated the case was dropped "when the prosecution realised that evidence would emerge that even British government lawyers believed the invasion was unlawful. Keira Knightley to star in 'forgotten' story of Iraq war whistleblower As Katharine Gun told me during our "Salon Talks" conversation, being played by Keira Knightley in a movie was approximately the last thing she ever thought might happen to her. There was a feeling ofas what you felt, Ed, in this case, yeah. Woman who shot and killed boyfriend says she didn't know her gun had a Official Secrets is based on the actions of Brit Katharine Gun, who revealed that America had been eavesdropping on diplomats from other countries. 'Official Secrets': the story of the British spy who tried to stop a war Official Secrets: A Conversation With Director Gavin Hood So, you know, it doesnt end, as Martin said. Spoiler: After Katharine Gun's identity became known, we at the Institute for Public Accuracy brought on Jeff Cohen, the founder of FAIR, to work with Hollie Ainbinder to get prominent individuals to support Gun. There is no single answer to that, she says, but Bright had the best stab at it: The only thing you can do is do your job right, and be a good citizen., In other words, she says, whatever your job is, do the things that you are supposed to do. March 29, 2023 Posted by is vimto squash good for you; Who is Katharine Gun's Husband? Where is Katharine Gun Now? Ben Emmerson is. GAVIN HOOD: They failed. I ended up, bizarrely, teaching a couple of my former colleagues at GCHQ. Does he try to treat it? And Ben comes up with this idea. Before I knew it, I had spent two hours researching Katharine. Truth has a habit of . Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Gun is on Mondays episode of the Guardian podcast Today in Focus, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. And he didnt come back out again. These folksbecause there are two legal ways you can go to war in international law. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. I wanted to go to the making of the filmKeira Knightley, did you meet with her?and also ask you, Gavin, about Keira taking on this role. During the season 5 finale of American Idol, Katharine McPhee was named the runner-up against winner Taylor Hicks. At the time, as I well remember, the paper was split in response to the talk of war. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, I mean, the story doesnt end. You cannot talk to anyone about your intelligence work. Youre, KATHARINE GUN: And then I was taken away. KATHARINE GUN: Yeah. Does she tell her story when she meets new people? Her life story is depicted in the new film Official Secrets. In Part 2 of our discussion, 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.. And I dont know how authentic it appeared to the person interviewing me, but I just felt terrible. She then went on to get a Masters degree in Global Ethics. He would have had to have the authority of Lord Goldsmith to prosecute. The original content of this program is licensed under a. For the American gamer, see, Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, United Nations Security Council and the Iraq War, "Whistleblowerin Katharine Gun - "Ich frchtete, sie knnten meine Gedanken lesen", "The US spymaster, the whistleblower, and the secret email she exposed", "Profile: Katherine Gun, Iraq war wistleblower", "Katharine Gun: Ten years on what happened to the woman who revealed dirty tricks on the UN Iraq war vote? He was Kurdishhe is Kurdish. 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". Sometimes you break stories, and networks ring you and say they want to interview you, and then they drop you because of the agenda. And yeah, it was absolutely terrifying. The relationships that form as a result of Gun's acting are quite inspiring. [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. AMY GOODMAN: And what did you tell Katharine at that time? to your inbox each morning. You know, youre the attorney general. And so, a lot, a lot later. So, was that Frank Koza? You get pulled over. KATHARINE GUN: Yeah, I was very excited to meet Keira in London before they started shooting. There have been other attempts to make a film over the years. The war did not end when George W. Bush said, Mission accomplished. It was only just beginning. 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. And nor did the story end. Be consistent. GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun speaks out - Daily Mail AMY GOODMAN: The people Martin was fighting to get this story out. "We still do not know all that happened - what GCHQ did, and why things happened," he said. It is loud, clear, confident, creative, interesting. delivered to your inbox every day! And you had a showing in San Francisco. Now, Martin, at this point, youve defended your story. Gun was outraged after she learned - as part of her job with GCHQ - that the United States wanted . MARTIN BRIGHT: this was the real deal. There are almost no defenses to this act. UPDATED with latest attendees, livestream link: President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, will attend Saturday's . I mean, couldnt have been happier with the casting choice, because Ben Emmerson is a force of nature, absolute force of nature, and a great international lawyer. I think its important for people to find that truth and follow through on it, Gun opined, and its certainly worth remembering. AMY GOODMAN: And so, what did you do when they said, Were going to take each one of you into a room.. AMY GOODMAN: The horror of what you did not succeed in preventing, though, which was the deaths of so many in Iraq, and that continues today, but you certainly touched the conscience of not just the nation, but the world, in what you did, talking about what womanwhat one woman could do. The simple fact is, she says: Truth always matters at the end of the day., Official Secrets is released on 18 October. The side of that history that Gun didnt really know in its fullest detail until she worked on the film was the drama of how the story made it into the pages of the Observer. Gun was charged for exposing around the time of Colin Powell's infamous testimony to the UN about Iraq's alleged WMDs a top-secret U.S. government memo showing it was mounting an . 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? 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. KATHARINE GUN: Well, I mean, its terrifying. Its all so resonant. In an interview with Democracy Now!, Gun explained, After they charged me, thats when they tried to deport my husband. Katharine Gun is a British Linguist and Iraq War Whistleblower. So, from a dramatic point of view, you have someone whos just going to their job every day, as most of us do, happens to be a spy working for GCHQ, but could have been a person working for an accounting firm or Enron or Boeing or any other organization, who sees something that is simply wrong, sees, you know, and says, GAVIN HOOD: and says, Im going to speak up.. 'Official Secrets': The True Story Behind the Keira - Newsweek So, of course, I was a little bit sort of reserved. Katharine Gun: The GCHQ whistleblower who tried to stop the Iraq War on 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.. So, I just lay that out, really. With me, it was this. Theyre going to send him back to Turkey. [9] Gun spent a night in police custody, and eight months later was charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act. I had had my own story on the fabrication of the weapons of mass destruction, the existence of a shadow intelligence-cooking agency within the Pentagon, which we at The Observer had for five months before Sy Hersh, with great respect to Sy, published it in The New Yorker. Because it offered her both a resolution, and none? And I went back to Martin. AMY GOODMAN: Works for the attorney general. They said, Plead out., AMY GOODMAN: We dont want you to go to jail for years. How many times has she seen the film now? Something like. "That story" concerns British whistleblower Katharine Gun, played by Keira Knightley in a film that premiered at Sundance festival in January.Fluent in Mandarin, the 28-year-old Gun was . Who is her husband? The difference, I think, is that hereand your program and your viewers are testimony to thisyou have an opposition. I work for the British people. is katharine gun still married to yasar - agcoz.com 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 . I could not get it in. Katharine Gun - who's played by Keira Knightley in a forthcoming film - blew the whistle on a dodgy scheme by the American government. The Whistleblower Who Almost Stopped the Iraq Invasion Katharine Gun was a young specialist working for Britains Government Communications Headquarters when she exposed a highly confidential memo that revealed the United States was working with the United Kingdom to collect sensitive information on United Nations Security Council members in order to pressure them into supporting the Iraq invasion. I mean, MI6 couldnt do that. Now, that doesnt mean we shouldnt try to hold them to account. 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.. 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. The law requires you to. They knew the difference between truth, lies and propaganda. But this gets out, and suddenly you see it on the front page of The Observer when you go to buy, what, milk in the morning for you and your husband. It was like watching a case that was very similar to my own. Gun was asked by Special Branch officers why she had chosen to act as she had. AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I took up teaching. This is a rush transcript. Guns story is not only an inspiration to her own daughter, but also to people around the world trying to be honest and brave citizens. MARTIN BRIGHT: No, it was the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. And I had already not been able to eat for about 24 hours. Shes beginning to understand the issues, but she hasnt seen it yet. 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. And the situation, the toxic abomination of Brexit in our country, has sort of rehabilitated Blair in a sort of bizarre way. Well, this article is all about the Katherine Johnson childhood, Katherine Johnson husband (s), Katherine Johnson family and Her career in NASA. [10] Her case became a cause clbre among activists, and many people stepped forward to urge the government to drop the case.