Thank you! The real-life Gun said: "The attempt at deportation kind of spiked my stress level again for another period of my life." In the runup to the critical vote on war in Iraq, Katharine Gun exposed a US plot to spy on the UN. When Official Secrets received its British premiere at Londons BFI Film Festival earlier this month, I was determined to wear something that held a special meaning and settled on a dress by an Iraqi designer. And we keep that system alive. She said, I was naive. Americans find it hard to believe that it could happen, but it happens, it happens fast. I dont know if theyd have discovered me eventually, but the fact is I couldnt live a lie for ever. This and her other writings about intelligence issues have been critically acclaimed. To separate fact from fiction, Newsweek spoke to the real Gun and Bright, as well as Official Secrets director Gavin Hood. A manufactured provocation. So I said goodbye to my mom and moved to America. "I think part of the reason Gavin included it was just to kind of share that thought process.". Rishi Sunak is urgently reviewing his private exchanges with Matt Hancock after bombshell leak of ex-Health 'Drinks cold in fridge at DH!' Some of those same birds are still flapping wings in the skies above Washington. Whistleblower Katherine Gun, right, is played by Keira Knightly in the movie Official Secrets, Gun was outraged after she learned - as part of her job with GCHQ - that the United States wanted Britain to assist in spying on fellow United Nations Security Council members to win a vote in favour of a planned war in Iraq. What It Feels Liketo Survive a Chemical Attack. From nightmares to candy cravings, the seemingly innocuous habits in Man is banned from touching every parking meter in Liverpool for two years after being convicted of theft, Katharine Gun, Gchq Whistleblower For The Mail On Sunday, Do not sell or share my personal information. We all, in some ways, make these decisions. It almost started with, well, would I have the courage to do what she did in another setting maybe? You work for the government. The issue is provocation. WebWhen the film opens, Gun (Keira Knightley) is happily married to Yasar (Adam Bakri), a Turkish national living in the UK on a temporary visa, and passionately invested in Gun had hoped the leak would prick the conscience of the British public, large sections of which were already taking to the streets in opposition to the war. On the other hand, she and Ben, to this day, feel they never got their day in court. Give today. But the falsehoods and unnecessary wars of yesteryear likely have influenced the waning support for public institutions today. "Because I think people see thatthe leaders of both the US and the UK conceivably could be considered war criminals, and yet they are walking free.". Perhaps they knew it would come out in the courtroom that the entire conflict was based on lies about Saddams weapons of mass destruction and that key UN officials could have been blackmailed. And it was this book which eventually became the script for Official Secrets. Then the story went When I got to the interview thats when they told me that its for GCHQ, I didnt know what GCHQ did. So, I think she entered the world out of a sort of strange curiosity. Gun disclosed details of the spying operation as it was happening to stop something she viewed as terrible happening in the future. She was charged Surely, after 16 years, we are entitled to have answers. Gavin Hood: Hes not in journalism. It gives me an interesting pause. Following the incident, Gun struggled to find work that she She had been following that war, as many of us had, for a year. It's tough, the laws here are even stricter than in the UK. Gavin Hood: And that really happened. Moment fitness influencer asks man to move off park bench 'because he's 'ruining her livestream' - but Mortgage demand plummets to a 28-year low as average interest rates hit 6.71% - just as spring home buying Britain braces for brutal -9C Arctic snap: Met Office warns more snow and ice could lash the country next Is YOUR wood burner at risk? It was the first time I had worked with characters who were still alive, and they very much wanted it to be accurate or they wouldn't sign over their life rights. And that I think was the motivation. We need a truth-sayer. ", Keira Knightley and Katharine Gun at the London premiere of "Official Secrets. David Dayen: How did you think Keira Knightley was an asset in showing that emotional journey throughout the movie? Right now my priorities are to ensure I am there for my daughter.". Theyre talking about diplomatic negotiations, and having all the cards on the table, but behind that what theyre doing is trying to bribe UN diplomatic members to vote for a war which has no legal justifications, Gun says. To look at someone who I thought was quite accessible and ordinaryand she doesn't mind me saying this because Katharine is someone who keeps her head below and is quiet, and did something extraordinary. After the leak was published, hundreds of staff inside the building were questioned in order to discover the identity of the whistleblower. It was an interesting experience because you couldn't really go bending things the way you thought would be more dramatic, you just have to make the story itself and hope there was enough drama there. She failed. The concern among many Americans is that claims of an unprovoked, deadly attack by Iran are exaggerated. But there's no way I would have expressed that to any of my colleagues," Gun explained. Official Secrets Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips Trailers, Imagine Donald Trump Running an Actual War. Whatever, she blew the whistle ultimately revealing the truth behind the build-up to the Iraq War--regime change, disguised as terrifying threats of weapons of mass destruction. I didn't plan to have this movie out today and know what was going to be going on. David Dayen: So why do you think this is an important story to tell now in 2019? Its Straussian, over the top and pretentious but basically amounts to this. Katharine Gun, former intelligence specialist turned whistleblower, discusses the new film "Official Secrets" which details why she leaked a classified memo. And in her case, she risked both her job and her freedom and whatever you think of her politically, I think that takes some guts. And maybe they were right, I don't know. Koza was in effect issuing a direct order to the employees of a UK security agency to gather "the whole gamut of information that could give US policymakers an edge in obtaining results favourable to US goals or to head off surprises". By Katharine Gun, Gchq Whistleblower For The Mail On Sunday, Published: 22:33 GMT, 26 October 2019 | Updated: 16:47 GMT, 8 November 2019. Seven times I've submitted articles to you with an alternate point of view, and seven times you've turned me down. He really wouldnt; that scene in the movie really happened. I was arrested for a breach of section one of the Official Secrets Act 1989 and held overnight in a cell in the basement of the Cheltenham Police headquarters. It was like a neon sign that was flashing at me, Gun says. But the invasion was forced to proceed with the backing of Bushs coalition of the willinginstead of with the support of the United Nations. Twenty-eight, pretty naive. So thats how the scene happened, but she didnt know where he was for three days, he was at Harmonsworth, before she got him out. "One of the things that we discovered quite early on when he was interviewing me was that a lot of stuff was just happening in my head. So, she began to feel uncomfortable in the work she was doing at that point. Never mind that invading another country for the purpose of regime change is illegal according to international laws to which the United States is a signatory. David Dayen: I want to go to the questions now. Naturally, I was discreet. This, despite credible evidence that Iran was in full compliance with terms of the agreement. Taking Vitamin D each day could cut your chances of getting dementia, study claims. What might, IKeira Knightley, feel if I'm sitting at my desk and this happened to me?" (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images). It left me in an impossible predicament. But get out of that trailer as fast as possible, get onto the set, and work from inside? Whether you work for Boeing or Enron or Wallstreet? It is to say that a government, for its own reasons may, either by design or through miscalculation, lead a country into an unnecessary and brutal war. Now the goal is not truth, it is victory. Such a law is not compatible with openness, transparency, accountability and justice. When you have the initial GCHQ induction course for new arrivals, she said, they tell you not to trust journalists, to be careful to keep everything confidential. Still, she printed off the memo, tucked it into her purse, and took it home. I did feel like, Well, I failed.. As the title of the film script suggests, she was "The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War". "But that's partly my own fault because I haven't aggressively pursued a career. When my moment came, I found myself standing alone in the dock facing the judge and surrounded by lawyers, journalists and supporters. Jeb Bush Just Botched the Iraq Question. Chile and Mexico and the other smaller countries were so outraged that they refused to even bring it to a vote. WebKatharine Guns husbands photo revelations are not made by her yet. And those two are great actresses. In the film, when Gun is sent an email from someone high up in the U.S. government that reveals the U.S. covert plan, she decides to leak it to Bright, who works for the British newspaper The Observer, which then publishes it on their front page. In real life, "the spellcheck largely happened through a series of phone calls," according to Bright, "because on a Sunday newspaper we don't work on a Sunday, and we don't work on a Monday. Then, the world is safer until the sequel when it all happens again. Sound familiar? She had received an email in her inbox asking her and her colleagues to help in a vast intelligence "surge" designed to secure a UN resolution to send troops into Iraq. Maybe thats rewarding. And they failed, in part, I believe, because Katharine Gun leaked that memo, Official Secrets director Gavin Hood told Democracy Now!. I had, of course, signed the Official Secrets Act, content in the knowledge I was working within the law for Britains protection. "Obviously, we are compressing a story that took place in real life over a period of a year into two hours. But George W. Bush did something that, thankfully, Trump hasnt pulled off yet: He took us to war. Then the most almighty cacophony erupted, a roar so loud we could barely hear to speak. By design. Webdeport Guns husband, Yasar (Adam Bakri), a Muslim Kurdish Turk who was awaiting permanent leave to remain in the U.K. Eventually, it was widely held that at least one of the reports of the attacks, and perhaps even both, were false. Does anyone have any questions? Then, the following November, after eight months of worry, I was finally charged. It is to say that we need to know the truth behind the decisions to act or not to act. So there is sometimes a thought in my head that says: What if Katharine hadn't leaked that memo? WebHer husband, Yaar Gn, is a Turkish Kurd. Warning: The following contains spoilers for Official Secrets. Katharine Gun, a British former government employee, faced two years imprisonment in England for the crime of telling the truth. You may not know the name Katharine Gun unless you live in the United Kingdom, but she was a pivotal figure in the run-up to the Iraq War. Before 1989, there had been a Public Interest Defence to protect whistleblowers, but that was altered amid the furore surrounding the sinking of the Argentinian Navy cruiser, the General Belgrano, in the course of the Falklands War. But the Bush administration went to war anyway, using the pretext of weapons of mass destruction. And I did the same for the journalists and the lawyers and everybody. Sometimes movies can be an effective way to make forgotten stories part of our national narrative, and in that sense, Official Secrets comes not a moment too soon. And it was there that, to our amazement and totally without warning, the CPS dropped the charges before the trial had even started. It should take the facts as they lead. "You get to the end, and there's this court case. And then there is the Gulf of Tonkin incident that led America deeply into war against North Vietnam. Or at least, she could have been. WebI disappeared with my husband down to the coast in Brighton, on the coast of England, and spent some time away from the limelight, Gun said in the interview. Id never seen anything like it. Only later did I appreciate the extent to which the journalists involved Martin Bright, Peter Beaumont and Ed Vulliamy had to go in order to prove that the email was legitimate. She said, I worry what's going to happen, they'll go, Ooh, I don't know if I like Keira Knightly in blonde hair, what's she done to her nose, does she have glasses on? Because they don't have a comparison to make, until you see her at the end of the movie. And Where Is Katharine Gun, JUST 36 HOURS TO GO IN OUR WINTER CAMPAIGN. What did you think was going to happen? Though celebrated Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg would later call Guns actions the most important and courageous leak in history due to her efforts to save lives through preventing a war, she obviously didnt succeed in stopping the invasion. 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, Don't mention the Iraq war, William Hague tells cabinet, Tenyears on, the case for invading Iraq is still valid, Occupying Iraq: a US army veteran's ambivalence, Howthe Bush administration sold the war and we bought it, the story the paper published 10 years ago this weekend, was arrested, lost her job and faced trial under the Official Secrets Act, collapsed after the prosecution withdrew its evidence. That seems like the central undercurrent that is playing throughout the entire film. Gavin Hood: There is a kind of cognitive dissonance. To this day, however, there has been barely a mention of the year I spent living under a cloud. There were some audience questions as well. Unfortunately. According to the Guardian, Gavin Hood: Thats such an interesting statement, I mean, I just took it at face value that papers take an editorial position, but youre right. WebYou may not know the name Katharine Gun unless you live in the United Kingdom, but she was a pivotal figure in the run-up to the Iraq War. In the years following, an author called Marcia Mitchell contacted me and said she was keen to write a book about my case. EXCLUSIVE: Lanzarote sticks to its guns and insists it WILL limit tourists and move away from relying on Jeremy Clarkson is axed as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Yet here was a story that had the capacity to derail the war altogether. Happy and carefree, Id recently married my handsome husband and was working at GCHQ as a linguist. You might say I am biased. Which is to say that GCHQ was being asked to dig dirt on foreign officials so that they could be blackmailed, bribed or both in order to secure a UN resolution authorising an invasion. 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. She said, I thought that might be quite interesting and exciting. WebThe Katharine Gun Case. [Gun's husband Yasar, a Kurd, was nearly deported back to the Middle East at one point, even though he had nothing to do with the leak.]. I didnt know the story and I googled her. And people do this in every country; they spy, they listen to what are the Chinese going to do when they get to this conference. And she said, Yep, I have no problem being asked to listen in, in instances where I might help prevent a terror attack. What this memo suggested was neither of those things it was a bridge too far for her. And it's a tough profession in many ways. The only thing that we altered in that is that I didnt have time to tell it for as long as it went on. The story went around the world and the leak electrified the international debate during the weeks of diplomatic deadlock. Throughout her own court case, whatonly a few knew wasthat she was also fighting for the right of her husband, who is from Turkey, to remain in the UK. ", Bright noted that apart from some small flourishes to heighten the drama, he didn't think Official Secrets had "any genuine liberties taken with the truth. She leaked a memo, she thought she'd get away with it, and she faced another one of these little moral dilemmas which was a few days later all her friends were being interrogated. Instead, the American coalition was forced to stake its claim to a legal invasion on grounds of self defense, including now-infamously untrue claims about weapons of mass destruction. Was it because we had demanded the Attorney Generals legal advice as part of my defence? She thought wow, they need a Mandarin translator at GCHQ. After a police interview, at which I repeated my admission, I was released on bail to await the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service. Despite the millions affected by the Iraq War, its now far removed from British and American news cycles, displaced from the headlines by todays political turmoil. Exaggerating threats to provoke a war? 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. Gavin Hood: Yes, it really sticks in my throat too. 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 members of the UN Security Council, to effectively blackmail them into voting for a second resolution that would make legal the invasion of Iraq. ", Speaking to Gun, and seeing her in archival footage at the end of the film, it is clear that Knightley didn't try to emulate the look or sound of the real-life Gun. I even thought, naively, Id be able to keep my anonymity. So she said, Can I just do nothing with my hair, put on the jeans like Katharine wore? So the wardrobe is accurate to Katharine's style. In fact, I had no idea what was going on. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. The same countries demanded immediate answers from the British government about its involvement in the spying. But that shouldn't be the philosophy pre-war when you're trying to decide whether to go to war. So it was a pretty awful thing to happen to her. Questioner: The only thing that I've wondered while watching the film, since it's a true story, is how could Ms. Gunn, who was a spy, who was a member of an intelligence agency, be surprised when her husband got deportedor when the government came after her husband, how could she be surprised when all of the different reactions she got came forward? In leaking it to the Observer, she was also doing something unprecedented in the history of espionage. WebHer late husband, Tom, a former special agent of the FBI and one-time head of counter-intelligence in New York, co-authored the Gun story. In technical speak, the Americans wanted the whole gamut of information which would give US policy makers an edge in obtaining results favourable to US goals in relation to Iraq. By the time Gun and around 100 of her colleagues received the emailed memo that would change her life, she had already come to the conclusion that the arguments for war with Iraq were not really valid arguments, she tells me. WebKatharine Gun wasn't looking for attention or any type of notoriety when in 2003, while working as a British intelligence specialist, she leaked a top secret memo. Not good enough, the trio decided. She wasnt charged for eight months a gruelling period which is depicted as just a few Today, I believe the Act serves as an illiberal, draconian piece of law, little more than a weapon of the state to deter any disclosure, no matter how much in the public interest it might be. Perhaps they don't trust him to keep his word. It turned out a copyeditor at The Observer had run the memo through spellcheck before printing it.]. Now, Trump says, he wants to see Iran back at the negotiating table. You have the UN resolution, we're all doing this together to stop the genocide or something, or it's self-defense, we're going to be attacked, it's so clear we're going to be attacked that we have to take pre-emptive action. Gun made the choice to leak the document, which Martin Bright of The Observer in Britain published in a story on March 2, 2003. Gavin Hood: Keira is wonderful and is absolutely professional, arrives perfectly prepared, very calm, no fuss. As the working day came to close, I tried to project a sense of calm I didnt feel, walked out of the gates and put the incriminating email in the post. She said, You mean I dont have to wear a corset? 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