On the night of the 19th of March, 2003, the bombs began to fall. KATHARINE GUN: Actually, time-wise, I was bailed for eight months. And what happened? And I hope that it can get people, Americans, to follow their conscience, and do the right thingstand up for what they believe in., With the world at an even more critical inflection point under controversial leadership, Gun hopes that others might find the courage to speak up if they come across as damning evidence as she dideven if it means temporarily sacrificing comfort. Everybody knows it. 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. Gun couldnt maintain the pretense that shed had nothing to do with it and confessed almost immediately. Katharine continues to reside in Turkey and occasionally visits Britain as of 2020. GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun speaks out. She believes that her leak probably finished off the second resolution, turning Chile and Mexico against it. We had just come from a press conference with the Iraqi information minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, better known as Comical Ali. In April 2020, Katharine was supposed to appear at the 14th edition of the International Journalism Festival as a speaker. KNIGHTLEY: Governments change. Don't worry, we'll never share or sell your information. 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. But, Katharine, how old were you in 2003? And it was. Two weeks later, on the 15th of February, 2003, a million people took to the streets of London to protest the prospect of Britain joining the war in Iraq. Members of the Security Council were outraged and any chance of a UN resolution in favour of war collapsed. This is a rush transcript. And, Ed, youre played by Rhys Ifans brilliantly in this movie, Official Secrets. . Ross weighs about 50 kg or 110 lbs. Yes, I mean, these were, as Martin has suggested, divisive, divided, bitter, difficult times. Guns story being told in Official Secrets. All this was a measure of the bloody chaos that was Iraq after the invasion: eventually there were 179 British dead,4,500 Americans, and maybe half a million Iraqis, most of them killed in a sectarian civil war. 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. AMY GOODMAN: But this was how long after you were picked up? The western leading man, Sam Elliott, first met his famous actress wife, Katharine Ross, on the set of a movie. 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. MARTIN BRIGHT: Was one of the six nations. She headed up to Yorkshire and went into hiding, as a media circus descended onto Cheltenham to find her. She went home and stewed about the email for the whole weekend. 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. JASMINE: [played by MyAnna Buring] Youre asking me to collude in a breach of the Official Secrets Act. GUN: Well, no, I was a recipient alongside about a hundred other recipients of that e-mail. At the time, the paper, their paper, The Observer, was openly supporting the Iraq invasion, leading up to it. MARTIN BRIGHT: It was one of those huge, huge, huge stories. In February 2003, Britain and the US began pushing for a new resolution that would give Saddam a month to disarm or face war. Copyright All rights reserved | And I pretty much ran home. "The world is moving in a completely fascist, corporate direction," she tells me, when I ask if thinking back she'd do it all again. Katharine Gun, Martin Bright, Ed Vulliamy and Gavin Hood. She explained that when she was first arrested, her name wasnt released publicly for eight months. That contact had connections with the antiwar movement. With no plan and no contacts, a duty solicitor who was well out of her depth was called. And so we had at least that. 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 . After the issue, they moved to Turkey in 2011 with her whole family to avoid the general public eye. The moment she walked out of GCHQ, she was breaking the Official Secrets Act, perhaps committing an act of treason. AMY GOODMAN: Wait a second. Katharine's house was searched before she was sat down to be interviewed the following morning. "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. It's taken a long time for Katharine to feel comfortable talking about everything that happened. And I went home and thought about it over the weekend. AMANPOUR: by somebody within your organization. But as Beyer would soon realize, Finchs past wasnt what she claimedand Beyers own difficult history was up for the taking. On Tuesday, it was her turn to be questioned. When the former husband and wife square off in a Virginia courtroom this week, it will mark the culmination of a divorce that has been without comparison in the annals of modern American celebrity. Their legal battles exposed the highest levels of government in both London and Washington #OfficialSecrets #KeiraKnightley #MattSmith---------------------For syndication or usage opportunities please contact syndication@heyuguys.co.uk.---------------------More from HeyUGuys:Website http://HeyUGuys.comFollow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/HeyUGuysSubscribe here! AMY GOODMAN: Weve got to make this fast; we have three minutes. And thats really where the story started for Ed and myself on The Observer, was process of verification. In bugging, in spying on, in eavesdropping, wiretapping, whatever? I did, rather naively, try calling the press office and getting an interview. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. Please do your part today. MARTIN BRIGHT: The top had been ripped off of the memo. Theyre cooking this up. LONDON FEBRUARY 25: Former employee of Britains global surveillance center GCHQ (Government Communications Head Quarters) Katharine Gun smiles as she speaks to the media during a press conference February 25, 2004 in London, England. On January 23 2003, Gun, who worked . Katharine had assumed a journalist would use the letter as a springboard for their own wider investigation. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. The advice was that, by accepting what she'd done was illegal, the jail time might end up reduced. And then they changed their headline, from Condi Rice orders operation at the NSA and GCHQ to British newspaper prints fake memo.. How old were you at the time? And this was before Isis, which exists, in part, because of events set in train by the war. KATHARINE GUN: When I saw this email asking GCHQs help to bug the six swing nations to gather a vote for war with Iraq, I was very angry at first and very saddened that it had come to this, and that despite all the talk from both Tony Blair and George Bush about how important it was to get the U.N. on board and to legitimize any kind of aggression, that they were actually going around it in such low-handed manner. Instead, helicopters skimmed over the rooftops, so as not to allow any insurgents the chance to fire a rocket propelled grenade. And I felt it was explosive information. When charges were officially pressed, Guns identity was revealed too. GCHQ began a leak inquiry, interviewing everyone. This was thought crucial to help Blair and his government survive a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons. Let us learn more about the duo and where they are currently. And, guys, you do not want to miss this story and what would then take place. You didnt. Theyre one of Hollywoods brightest starsand most troubled actors. Its 15 years later. We do not accept funding from advertising, underwriting or government agencies. KATHARINE GUN: No. A month later, the Observer splashed the story over its front page. Thats the critical point. 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. What was the headline? Official Secrets is based on the actions of Brit Katharine Gun, who revealed that America had been eavesdropping on diplomats from other countries. Theres a back story. Katharine was charged with an offense under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1989 on 13 November 2003. She had a leading role in the 1969 film, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and Elliott had a small, untitled role. Amirah Vann Brings Heart & Depth to Black Womens Stories i British whistleblower named Katharine Gun, Gun how she felt looking back on her decision, Blair has been given the opportunity to speak about Brexit. But its just because the copy editor ran it through spell check. Keira Knightley as Katharine Gun in 'Official Secrets.' Courtesy of IFC Films In the past, you've taken on roles in many period films but Official Secrets is set not that long ago, in 2003. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people have been affected by it, and those effects continue to this day. When she leaks an NSA memo to the press exposing the American covert manipulation of allies, she will be forced into the spotlight. I could not get it in the paper. Economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram on World Bank, Climate Emergency, Global Debt Crisis & More, We Want a Better Future: Meet an Asylum Seeker Evicted from, Jeremy Scahill on Mistreatment of Whistleblowers & Uneven Enforcement of Laws over Classified Papers, Part 1: In 2003, This U.K. Whistleblower Almost Stopped the Iraq Invasion. I mean, my first reaction was shock and anger. Tell us the moment. AMY GOODMAN: And then everyoneFOX, CNNand then they all cancel. You know, its not every day you get a top-secret memo, and not just a top-secret memo from GCHQ, but a top-secret memo from the NSA sent to GCHQ. The film stars Matthew Goode, Katherine Kelly, Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. Forty years later, JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson tell all about the horror classics secrets, tragedies, and controversies. She wondered if the economic sanctions that were supposed to choke Saddams dictatorship were instead, as the critics maintained, causing a genocide of Iraqis. AMY GOODMAN: So you had nothing to do with what was going on, covering stuff in Iraq or working on that issue. And truth was having a hard time at The Observer at that point. So, I called him and asked him if he could do anything to help track down Frank Koza, or the reality or otherwise of this individual. 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. Instead, the memo had been produced on the front page in its entirety. They want to interview Martin Bright, because youve got the story of this memo. 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. 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.Or at least, she could have been. 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