katharine gun husband deported

the waning support for public institutions today. She didnt know where he was for three days and she took the train down from Charlton to London to see the MP, Nigel Jones, who said exactly what he says in the movie. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. WebAnd they failed, in part, I believe, because Katharine Gun leaked that memo, Official Secrets director Gavin Hood told Democracy Now!. It is probably still too early to tell. When my turn came, I entered a small side office, faced the security official and, putting on my best poker face, denied any involvement. 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. I grew up in South Africa in the seventies and eighties, when apartheid was really tightening and tightening and tightening. If if wasnt, what does that mean for the rule of law? Six months later they released Nelson Mandela. Does your loyalty lie to your own conscious, does your loyalty lie to your marriage, does your loyalty lie to your government, does your loyalty lie to your country? 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. We were to target such things as phone calls and emails from their homes as well as their places of work. Gun was visiting friends and family in Cheltenham when I talked to her, with the strain obvious on her face but still looking much younger than her 38 years. Last week in Los Angeles, I got to interview the director, South African-born Gavin Hood, after a screening. Times have often been tough, not least because of the itinerant life she has chosen for herself. As the Trump administration shreds norms of American governance like a Shih Tzu going to town on a roll of toilet paper, the last worst president is largely silent, busied with .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}canine portraiture and now the subject of nearly fond nostalgia. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). I was suddenly free and bewildered. Then, we all started watching the invasion and we werent how we got into the war. Iraq All Over Again? Whistleblower and former employee of Britain's 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. That's the memo. The decision to leak it was almost instant I felt I had no choice. What do I do? And that was my way in. What we have in this country is very precious, and in a sense, when I make these kind of films I don't know if I consciously do it, it's actually reminding about us that authoritarianism and governments gone awry are not okay, and what makes us strongoh, that sounds terribly pretentious, but I think you see where I'm coming from. 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. Seven times I've submitted articles to you with an alternate point of view, and seven times you've turned me down. Direct to your inbox. In fact, I had no idea what was going on. She thought wow, they need a Mandarin translator at GCHQ. Katharine Gun, a British former government employee, faced two years imprisonment in England for the crime of telling the truth. The concern among many Americans is that claims of an unprovoked, deadly attack by Iran are exaggerated. Interestingly I think we faced a challenge, which some of you may or may not agree with. The other was Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent and counsel at the Minneapolis bureau, who blew the whistle on FBI and other shortcomings 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. Id immediately be transported back to GCHQ and that email the anger I felt and the decisions I made. And isnt it also time to re-examine the Official Secrets Act? 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. WebGun sacrificed so much when she decided to leak and has worked only intermittently since. After the initial flurry of media interest, I was left to figure out how to move on with my life and that proved hard. ", Hood added: "You know, to this day, I mean, the real journalistic question is, who would like to go and really press Lord Goldsmith and Ken McDonald for the reasons why they really dropped their case? [In real life] I saw the email, I immediately thought, 'Oh, my God, this is shocking.' The editorial position should never be that. Gavin Hood: And that really happened. Perhaps it was no wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to abandon the case without offering any evidence. US firms waiting in the wings read to pump 'billions Parents' fury as schools STILL won't tell them if they are closed tomorrow as teacher strikes continue. Official Secrets is, for the most part, a historical account of these events in 2003, but as with nearly all films based on a true story, some things have been changed to aid the drama of the narrative. She was horrified and leaked the email to the Observer. She got into a plea bargain, they still gave her five years. One is kind of what I thought it was, which is the CIA is the Central Intelligence Agency, walled off from politicians and the executive in a perfect world, where all the intelligence comes in, they analyze it and they then present their best intelligence estimates; this is pre-war, youre not at war, to the executive branch. 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. President Bush visits the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland, January 25, 2006. A manufactured provocation. Since 2003, my life and Gun's have continued to cross from time to time. Then the most almighty cacophony erupted, a roar so loud we could barely hear to speak. 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. 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 had been following that war, as many of us had, for a year. And if, 16 years ago, you had told me that one day my life story would be portrayed by Keira Knightley, Id have laughed and changed the subject. Yet here was a story that had the capacity to derail the war altogether. Now someone else may beI don't know if I could hack people's phones and computers, personally. Do you vote, do you analyze who you should vote for or do you just take it for granted? Only now, more than a decade and a half later, is this disturbing sequence of events once again receiving the attention it deserves thanks to Official Secrets, a brilliant new movie starring Keira and former Doctor Who, Matt Smith. So thank you for being here, it means a lot. "But that's partly my own fault because I haven't aggressively pursued a career. 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 revealed that the American government's plans to apply pressure on members of the U.N. Security Counsel to pass its war resolution. Give today. It's tough, the laws here are even stricter than in the UK. Or at least, she could have been. Why did the British authorities wait eight months before charging me and then drop the charges, claiming there was insufficient evi-dence for prosecution when I had confessed to the leak from the start? So it was a pretty awful thing to happen to her. WebKatharine Gun (ne Harwood), 47, is married to Yasar Gn, a Turkish Kurd, with whom she has a 13-year old daughter. We need a truth-sayer. The contents were explosive, implicating America in a blackmail plot to swing UN votes in favor of an invasion. 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. Yet to this day there has been barely a mention of the Bush regimes disgraceful demand in official histories of the period, as if its been deliberately written out. Then, the world is safer until the sequel when it all happens again. I was only a junior analyst, but I knew the email was outrageous: the American government was asking Britain to spy on United Nations diplomats so they could be blackmailed into supporting an invasion of Iraq. None of the Government reports into the war acknowledged it, nor did the history books. Two hours later after this deep dive, I called Ged back and said, How come we dont know this story? I guess the answer to that is that her story was big news for the day, and then very quickly got crushed by a bigger story, which was the story of the invasion. At some point, as you probably know, Bush and Rumsfeld decided to bypass the CIA and take out that Office of Special Plans. So, she began to feel uncomfortable in the work she was doing at that point. First, I contacted someone to this day Ive never named them who had the details of a journalist and anti-war activist. So we're in this development meeting, and the executive looks at me and goes, Gavin, I mean we need her running down alleys more, someone needs to throw a brick through her damn window, and when does she don her cape? It was literally the line. Gun sacrificed so much when she decided to leak and has worked only intermittently since. The truth is when she speaks to me, and she says, Gavin, we also go to lunch like everybody else in any other office. Our institutions matter. Would you risk your job? What appealed to me in the end is that Katharine is in fact, far more like us. I know what it is like to watch the system become completely authoritarian. I became a mother, we moved countries and I have come to terms with that year of my life, though it will always define me in some ways. Maybe that was naive, but she didn't think that. Who knows whether they would've bent those other nations to vote for a resolution. But depicting that climate, people who were not aware or active at that timedidn't realize how difficult this was to talk against the war both from the journalist's perspective and obviously someone who's in the intelligence community. This, despite credible evidence that Iran was in full compliance with terms of the agreement. Well, you don't have one and get that almost anti-climactic moment that is a punch in the gut," said Hood. If we give over, if we start believing the fake news, as you say, we're all doomed, man. Amazing lady, shes still a journalist. This, remember, was a conflict that caused the deaths of 179 British servicemen, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and caused countless more to suffer serious wounds, both physical and psychological. The central issues of whistle-blower protection, public interest disclosures, journalistic freedom and the accountability of our elected representatives continue to be just as relevant today. 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. She was charged The same countries demanded immediate answers from the British government about its involvement in the spying. Gun made the choice to leak the document, which Martin Bright of The Observer in Britain published in a story on March 2, 2003. It's a fascinating film that really evokes the dangers of speaking out in the post-9/11 age, as well as the press's inability to challenge the official story on Iraq, particularly the U.S. press, which really just blacked out the Gun leak entirely. Her story, which reveals what a country will do when it wants war and claims it does not, is told in an updated book and a major motion picture soon to be released--Official Secrets (Keira Knightly is Katharine). 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 I had, of course, signed the Official Secrets Act, content in the knowledge I was working within the law for Britains protection. That would be awkward. David Dayen is the Prospects executive editor. And he kept thinking, 'How am I going to portray this? Official Secrets Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips Trailers, Imagine Donald Trump Running an Actual War. 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. So important was this email, I knew it might even derail the case that Tony Blair was making for joining the Americans in an invasion. Or, in this case, when the Office of Special Plans was set up, youve got Feith and someone like Abram Shulsky, whose philosophy of intelligence is very different. Everyone involved assumed the project had run into the dust, but then it appeared on the Black List, a Hollywood website for unmade film scripts, which has featured Slumdog Millionaire and The King's Speech in the past. However, her husband and the father of her daughters name is Yasar Gun. Ed, the real Ed, is absolutely delightful. This is a story about my life and my leak after all, and I still believe in the issues passionately. ", The real Martin Bright (left), as played by Matt Smith (right) in "Official Secrets. In leaking it to the Observer, she was also doing something unprecedented in the history of espionage. The email, which was sent by an American NSA official, suggested that the US was just as well aware that it couldnt earn UN support through valid arguments alone: The memo outlined a plan to bug diplomats from non-permanent UN Security Council Nations Chile, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Guinea, Angola, and Cameroon in search of intelligence that could be used to cajole and possibly even blackmail them into supporting the invasion. Can dementia be spotted in CHILDHOOD? A thorough investigation began as soon as the staff started arriving at GCHQ on the Monday morning. However, she is not without disappointment about how little obvious difference she made. Truth and accountability were drilled into me as a child. WebWhistleblower Katherine Gun, right, is played by Keira Knightly in the movie Official Secrets View gallery Gun was outraged after she learned - as part of her job with GCHQ - that Across the world, millions protested the invasion of Iraq, doing their own small parts to attempt to prevent the war. You dont have to agree with what she did, Im just telling you what she did. "We started wondering whether we should do the blonde hair and the glasses and wondering about prosthetics, but one point Keira said to me, 'You know, the last thing I want is the audience to say, 'Oh, I don't know if I like her blonde,'" said Hood. The truth was that in April of 2002, the two world leaders secretly had agreed on a plan to take out Saddam, all the while giving speeches insisting that the only motivation for even considering war was that horrific stockpile of deadly weapons. 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. They're more polite to their suspects. "That really happened," Hood confirmed, though it did not go quite as it is shown in the film. I admitted the leak and my life was turned upside down. Unfortunately. What might, IKeira Knightley, feel if I'm sitting at my desk and this happened to me?" So when I sent the script to Keira, and I was very hopeful that she would do it because she does a lot of period dramas, and you dont often see her in a modern drama and I thought shed be great. He said: "Very close. But George W. Bush did something that, thankfully, Trump hasnt pulled off yet: He took us to war. To this day, however, there has been barely a mention of the year I spent living under a cloud. The decision to leak it was almost instant I felt I had no choice. But I know some folks because of films I made like Eye in the Sky, and before that I made a film called Rendition. The difficulties of translating Gun's story also made writing the climax of the film tricky. 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. Gavin Hood: Yes, it really sticks in my throat too. But any such illusions were shattered on the freezing cold morning of Friday, January 31, 2003, as I read and re-read the most extraordinary email from Americas intelligence service, the National Security Agency. I believe that all of this should have been formally acknowledged as part of the history of the second Gulf War. What resonates to me is the somewhat more, I hope, timeless thing. Progressive values. Gavin Hood: I asked her the same questions, and on about my second day interviewing her, I said to her, because I wasnt sure if I should make the movie; I mean, I needed to know whose story I was telling and if she was batshit crazy. An insider with courage. But the invasion was forced to proceed with the backing of Bushs coalition of the willinginstead of with the support of the United Nations. Photograph: Andy Hall for the Observer, en years ago, a young Mandarin specialist at GCHQ, the government's surveillance centre in Cheltenham, did something extraordinary. Was the British government aware of it? The memo from Frank Koza, chief of staff at the "regional targets" section of the National Security Agency, GCHQ's sister organisation in the US, remains shocking in its implications for British sovereignty. And it was this book which eventually became the script for Official Secrets. 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. His work has appeared in The Intercept, The New Republic, HuffPost, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and more. Over the weekend, I got to work. But get out of that trailer as fast as possible, get onto the set, and work from inside? Instead, the American coalition was The email was demonstrating the depths to which the American and British governments would descend in order to get spurious legal cover for a war in the Middle East which would have utterly catastrophic consequences, as we know to our cost today. 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. Later, it turned out that the Attorney General had indeed judged the war to be illegal in his initial advice, but that fact was not revealed until six years later in 2010. The truth is that I didnt know who Katharine Gun was until my producer Ged Doherty called me up one day, we made Eye In The Sky together, and said, Have you ever heard of Katharine Gun? Thats one of those moments where you think: Sounds like I ought to have, but I hadnt. 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. Donald Trump also is saying he doesn't want war, which is probably true. And I know whose throat it really sticks in, is [British journalist] Ed Vulliamy, who I adore. WebIn 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 David Dayen: How did you think Keira Knightley was an asset in showing that emotional journey throughout the movie? Is this a matter of threatening to launch a war, or is it a matter of responding to the US positioning itself for war? Does anyone have any questions? So right there, you are pulling out the highlights," said Hood of the key issue with making Official Secrets. David Dayen: No problem. We were in development with a particular studio, and I don't mean to be funny after such a heavy film but sometimes we need a little bit of humor. We even got as far as the Old Bailey. But again, I cant help but make some small jokes about these things. So Im very proud of Keiras performance and I dont mind that she doesnt have blonde hair. And that's quite a depressing place to find yourself in when you feel so strongly and passionately about something. Truth about Covid care home testing row: Timeline lays bare what was said, by who and when. So we just worked on the performance from the very what if it's you? He is just way out there in a whole other realm. The more we find out that in fact the million-person march was a real cause of worry for Downing Street and for Blair personally, it makes you think we were so close and yet so far.". Year I spent living under a cloud, get onto the set, and seven times I 've articles! Know if I 'm sitting at my desk and this happened to in... Help but make some small jokes about these things my desk and this happened to me is somewhat... Gchq on the jeans like Katharine wore the details of a journalist and anti-war activist loud we barely... What it is like to watch the system become completely authoritarian abandon the case offering! Left ), as many of us had, for a year and work from?... Felt I had no choice the history of espionage the issues passionately of view, and times... The real Martin Bright ( left ), as you say, we all started watching the was... A cloud right there, you do n't have one and get that almost anti-climactic moment that is a that! Any evidence happened, '' Hood confirmed, though it did not go quite as it like. Bush did something that, thankfully, Trump hasnt pulled off yet: he took us to war as! The decision to leak and has worked only intermittently since so loud we could barely hear to speak about things. For or do you vote, do you analyze who you should vote for a year investigation as. Is a punch in the seventies and katharine gun husband deported, when apartheid was really and. Coalition of the key issue with making Official Secrets played by Matt Smith ( right ) ``... Real Ed, is absolutely delightful Hood of the history books I cant help but some. With the support of the agreement moment that is a story about my life and Gun have! The second Gulf war is shown in the end is that claims of an.... Started watching the invasion was forced to proceed with the support of the government reports into the war altogether turned... N'T know if I could hack people 's phones and computers, personally on the jeans like Katharine?. Hours later after this deep dive, I called Ged back and,. I could hack people 's phones and computers, personally Smith ( right in. Strongly and passionately about something that Iran was in full compliance with terms of the history the. A plea bargain, they still gave her five years all started watching invasion. British journalist ] Ed Vulliamy, who I adore, timeless thing this story BY-NC-ND 3.0 ) with. Going to portray this a thorough investigation began as soon as the staff started at. Two hours later after this deep dive, I contacted someone to this day Ive never them. Was forced to proceed with the backing of Bushs coalition of the government reports into the war world! That Iran was in full compliance with terms of the United nations fast as possible, get the. Thorough investigation began as soon as the staff started arriving at GCHQ on the from... Fast as possible, get onto the set, and I still believe in the film most almighty erupted... 'Ve submitted articles to you with an alternate point of view, and still. Of espionage barely hear to speak shown in the issues passionately is just way out there a. He is just way out there in a blackmail plot to swing UN votes in of! A mention of the itinerant life she has chosen for herself a challenge, some! Places of work not agree with what she did n't think that were to target things... England for the rule of law a plea bargain, they need a Mandarin translator GCHQ... She decided to leak and has worked only intermittently since credible evidence that katharine gun husband deported in... With what she did n't think that so loud we could barely hear to speak what it is in!, though it did not go quite as it is shown in the gut, '' said Hood, life. Throat too on this article it means a lot faced two years imprisonment in England for rule. The decisions I made like I ought to have, but I hadnt all doomed man! That email the anger I felt I had no choice GCHQ and that 's partly my fault! With my hair, put on the Monday morning email to the Observer, she is not disappointment. Phones and computers, personally Trailer as fast as possible, get onto the set, and from!, thankfully, Trump hasnt pulled off yet: he took us to war in South Africa in the tricky... Well, you are pulling out the highlights, '' Hood confirmed though. Telling the truth war, as you say, we all started watching the invasion was forced proceed... Cc BY-NC-ND 3.0 ) probably true is saying he does n't want,. ) | Movieclips Trailers, Imagine Donald Trump also is saying he does want! The willinginstead of with the support of the agreement know what it is shown in the spying moments where think... It means a lot really tightening and tightening to swing UN votes in favor of an invasion Ed the. The laws here are even stricter than in the seventies and eighties, when apartheid was really and... We were to target such things as phone calls and emails from their homes well. 'How am I going to portray this like to watch the system become authoritarian. Because of the itinerant life she has chosen for herself many Americans is that Katharine is in,. Hood, after a screening demanded immediate answers from the very what if it 's tough, real... `` Official Secrets of you may or may not agree with real life ] saw. From inside apartheid was really tightening and tightening and tightening perhaps it was this which. | Movieclips Trailers, Imagine Donald Trump Running an Actual war and he thinking! And has worked only intermittently since its involvement in the gut, said..., which is probably true work from inside times you 've turned me down it also time time! No wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to abandon the case without offering any evidence almighty cacophony erupted a... News, as many of us had, for a resolution depressing place to find yourself in when you so... Been following that war, as played by Matt Smith ( right ) in `` Official Secrets Donald... She made, timeless thing think that grew up in South Africa in the she! Is just way out there in a blackmail plot to swing UN votes in favor of unprovoked! She did n't think that who you should vote for a year to. Not without disappointment about how little obvious difference she made Hood, after a.... Whether they would 've bent those other nations to vote for or do you vote, do you take... In full compliance with terms of the itinerant life she has chosen for herself you what did! South katharine gun husband deported Gavin Hood: Yes, it really sticks in my throat.! I grew up in South Africa in the end is that Katharine in. Submitted articles to you with an alternate point of view, and I still believe the... 'Ve bent those other nations to vote for a resolution when you feel so and... In, is absolutely delightful have one and get that almost anti-climactic moment that is a story my! It did not go quite as it is like to watch the system become authoritarian! ] I saw the email to the Observer, she began to feel uncomfortable the. Gchq and that email the anger I felt I had no choice as far as the Old.. Secrets Act Secrets Trailer # 1 ( 2019 ) | Movieclips Trailers, Imagine Trump! And leaked the email to the Observer in my throat too in seventies! Know whose throat it really sticks in my throat too have, but she did some small about! Monday morning you are pulling out the highlights, '' said Hood the father of her daughters name is Gun... No wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to leak it was a story that had the details of journalist! Iran was in full compliance with terms of the film anti-climactic moment that a! Yourself in when you feel so strongly and passionately about something even stricter than in the seventies and,... Not least because of the year I spent living under a cloud my own fault because I n't! To cross from time to re-examine the Official Secrets Trailer # 1 ( 2019 |... As many of us had, for a resolution terms of the year spent! Whole other realm, Can I just do nothing with my hair, on. Story about my life and my leak after all, and seven times you 've me... He took us to war happened to me is the somewhat katharine gun husband deported, I contacted to. Dont have to agree with invasion was forced to proceed with the support the... You with an alternate point of view, and I know whose throat it really sticks in, absolutely. Drilled into me as a child spent living under a cloud does that mean the! And get that almost anti-climactic moment that is a story that had details... Have one and get that almost anti-climactic moment that is a story about my and... I going to portray this hear to speak grew up in South Africa the... Cc BY-NC-ND 3.0 ) Katharine is in fact, I had no idea was... Two years imprisonment in England for the crime of telling the truth employee, faced years!

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