In April 2020, Katharine was supposed to appear at the 14th edition of the International Journalism Festival as a speaker. The Americans had sent GCHQ a request to spy on the UN ambassadors of the six countries with the important, perhaps swing, votes. But it seemed inevitable. KATHARINE GUN: I translated signals intelligence, and I reported anything I thought might be of interest to my clients. Katherine Louisa Ryan was born on June 30, 1983, to Finbar and Julie McCarthy in the city of Sarnia in southwestern Ontario, Canada. On Tuesday, it was her turn to be questioned. 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. By Nick Wall/IFC Films/Everett Collection. is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Mr. Koza? Yeah, whos that? Now, I asked around. The message requested Katharine's assistance in co-ordinating an illegal US-UK spy operation which would secure UN authorisation for the Iraq invasion. The plan was to persuade them simply to abstain by piling up enough votes from other countries. What Really Happened During the Making of. That meant winning over temporary members of the Council, countries such as Angola, Bulgaria, Chile and Mexico. List of Wanted Pages on Real Life Heroes Wiki. Courtroom porn and social media have turned innocent bystanders into a mass of mudslingers. You didnt. You think this is real, but you do have to track it down. TINTIN: You eavesdrop on private conversations. Our Daily Digest brings Democracy Now! I was quite nervous. These Romantic Movies Are Guaranteed To Make You Cry, The Greatest Romantic Comedies That Youll Watch On Repeat, 26 Movies Every Woman Should See At Least Once. Gun is in her forties now and living quietly in Turkey. 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. Katharine Gun worked as an analyst for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British equivalent of the secretive U.S. National Security Agency. Katharine Gun knew exactly the sort of work she was employed to do; two years into a job at GCHQ as a Mandarin "analyst" and "translator", it's hard not to. Were talking about Official Secrets. And, Ed, youre played by Rhys Ifans brilliantly in this movie, Official Secrets. "I got into the office, turned on my computer and looked through my emails," says Katharine, more than 16 years later. That night, Katharine posted the letter to a contact whose identity she continues to withhold. JERRY: [played by Chris Reilly] Hes a Muslim. Katharine spent that night in a cell underneath the local police station. Katharine McPhee was initially hesitant about dating David Foster . "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 was a crisis meeting because they had failed to get a second UN resolution, to give legal cover for the war. We had at least a name. MARTIN BRIGHT: Well, I did. The email wasnt even meant for her. Katharine Teresa Gun (ne Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It took a maddeningly long periodeight months of existential limbobefore Gun was charged with violating the Official Secrets Act. Katharine continues to reside in Turkey and occasionally visits Britain as of 2020. Gun couldnt maintain the pretense that shed had nothing to do with it and confessed almost immediately. The AFI Life Achievement recipient discusses her most memorable filmsand what moviegoers actually misremember. 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. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. Ross has black color eyes and black color hair. Yasar's wife is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters. 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. I gather intelligence so that the government can protect the British people. Today, she lives in Turkey, with her husband and their child. As Iraq descended into chaos, Katharine was arrested and charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. 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. 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 . Official Secrets recounts Gun's story, from her fateful decision (which of course accomplished nothing in the end, even though the leak quickly went public) to her bizarre criminal trial. Nayib Bukele Touts Megaprison with Shocking Images of Shackled Detainees, Reporter Seymour Hersh on How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipeline: Exclusive TV Interview, Outrage Soars in Occupied West Bank After Israel Kills 11, Injures 500 Palestinians in Nablus Raid. Otherwise we are living in dictatorships. 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. She believes that her leak probably finished off the second resolution, turning Chile and Mexico against it. 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. At the end of the day, we are accountable to our conscience. 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 . Katharine feared she'd be fobbed off and then put under surveillance should she report it, so instead she kept silent and headed home for the weekend. They were going use information gathered from the intelligence to either bribe or blackmail them into voting for this war. Gun was cleared of a charge under the Official Secrets Act after being fired for revealing a secret e-mail. I was trembling like a leaf. She had leaked a secret email revealing what was called at the time an illegal dirty tricks campaign to fix the UN vote. It looked like a very exciting story. Some of it was to do with complications over an unfortunate spell check within the memo. We welcome you all to Democracy Now! Your email address will not be published. We were handed a simple sheet of A4 paper that had a series of words typed on it. We were basically going to put the Iraq War on trial, she said. This is Katharines story were talking about, but there is a back story in the film, which plays its part, which is mine, and Ill be quick on this. And then, finally, it came to me. Together they have a 13-year-old daughter. As of 2019, she lived in Turkey with her husband and daughter for several years. Katharine's house was searched before she was sat down to be interviewed the following morning. And it was a terrible moment when I had to look in my drawer and find it. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. And I justyou know, I just collapsed. Right here. And I was petrified. All I could was this looming war. It was intended for someone else but had been distributed to everyone in her section. Record Coal Prices Help Break Strike. The ripple effect from that initial invasion is continually being felt in worldwide institutions, in the U.S. and the U.K. Nobody really has been held responsible for it, and the fact remains that the nation of Iraq is still very much traumatized by what happened. She has then attributed to being a huge source of information to the medias watch. We still dont know, to this day, why they did that. And at the time, The Observer newsroom wasand The Observer itself was split, because some people supported the war, some people didnt. The Smash actress, 36, admitted her 35-year age gap with Foster, 71, was a concern for her - but more because of the . GAVIN HOOD: Yes. Release date September 13, 2019 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. AMY GOODMAN: But the spelling of it is British spelling. The Crown Prosecution Service was about to charge her. How did it come to this? And tell the final results of what happened. Katharine Gun is the Most Important Whistleblower You've Never Heard of Gun discusses her attempt to stop the Iraq War, which is the subject of the new movie Official Secrets . 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 classified memo to The Observer newspaper. Katharine smuggled the printed email out of GCHQ and leaked it to the media, on the 2nd March it was . 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. This was thought crucial to help Blair and his government survive a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons. "It worries me, it should worry us all. Yasur Gunnis is the husband of Katharine Gun, a linguist who specializes in translating Mandarin Chinese into English. AMY GOODMAN: So, bugging these six countries. No, you just do not do stuff like that. I do not gather intelligence so that the government can lie to the British people. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images), https://thespectator.com/topic/katharine-gun-spy-iraq-war/, US edition of the world's oldest magazine, Katharine Gun: the spy who tried to stop the Iraq war, How Syria became the worlds most profitable narco state, How the earthquake is strengthening Syrias dictatorship, Why Netanyahu is right about Israels rogue supreme court. Gun's trial took place on February 25, 2004, where the charges against her were dropped after only half an hour due to the prosecution deciding not to present any evidence. Ross has black color hair, why they did that a maddeningly long periodeight months of existential limbobefore gun charged... What moviegoers actually misremember being fired for revealing a secret email revealing what was called the., with her husband and daughter for several years eyes and black hair! Bribe or blackmail them into voting for this war gun was cleared of a charge under the Official Act. 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