In one pivotal scene in the film, all of Gun and Bright's work is nearly undone by one mistake, as a member of The Observer team accidentally changed the American spelling of the memo into British spelling, something The Drudge Report then used to discredit the memo. Not the truth, but the war. Seven times I've submitted articles to you with an alternate point of view, and seven times you've turned me down. I don't know that consciously it did, it's just that I didn't know the story and so, for me, it was I asked Katharine, I flew to London, I met her for five days. 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 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. That would be awkward. And it's also true that we were then attacked by the Drudge Report for what would now be called 'fake news. As opposed to trying to be Katharine Gun. So I said goodbye to my mom and moved to America. That seems like the central undercurrent that is playing throughout the entire film. Or at least, she could have been. And maybe if we went to work for Enron and we liked our job well enough, and its a job. But I know some folks because of films I made like Eye in the Sky, and before that I made a film called Rendition. I've seen that happen. The decision to leak it was almost instant I felt I had no choice. Ms Gun worked as a translator at the GCHQ building in Cheltenham, pictured. In the years following, an author called Marcia Mitchell contacted me and said she was keen to write a book about my case. So here we are in rehearsal, and we're talking one day about the look. 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. Martin Bright, who is in the movie very briefly I guess, is no longer in journalism as I understand it. Katharine Gun, a British former government employee, faced two years imprisonment in England for the crime of telling the truth. We started working on this three years ago and even then it felt relevant in the sense that the challenges we talked about earlier: Where does my loyalty lie? I had, of course, signed the Official Secrets Act, content in the knowledge I was working within the law for Britains protection. It was written in technical language, but the meaning was clear enough: the Americans were asking around 100 people in GCHQ to gather information from the communications made by diplomats from six nations Angola, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea and Pakistan all which were then sitting on the United Nations Security Council. 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. Then, the following Monday, I printed out a copy of the email, folded it up, and tucked it carefully in my bag. 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. Who spoke to the homeland secretary? Although the story made headlines around the world at the time of the leak and later at the time of her trial, which collapsed after the prosecution withdrew its evidence, it remains largely missing from the official narratives of the build-up to the Iraq war. I sensed a slight flash of anger as she said: "It's not even a footnote in the history of Iraq." 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. And Where Is Katharine Gun, JUST 36 HOURS TO GO IN OUR WINTER CAMPAIGN. This included a particular focus on the "swing nations" on the security council, Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria and Guinea, "as well as extra focus on Pakistan UN matters". Gun had, of course, been forced to abandon her career in the civil service 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. Marcia Mitchell is a writer, researcher, and the author of "The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion." As of 2020 Gun lives in Turkey and Britain. WebGun sacrificed so much when she decided to leak and has worked only intermittently since. I got that from Yasar. Who authorised the NSA email, for example? His philosophy comes from a military intelligence model, which actually, by the time you go to war, now it's about winning. David Dayen: The first thing I thought about when looking at this movie is that in most recent historical epics, the audience knows what's happening next. By design. It sounds big with Katharine but that's what inspired me. Sorry to digress. Gun discusses her attempt to stop the Iraq War, which is the subject of the new movie Official Secrets. And it was this book which eventually became the script for Official Secrets. The decision to leak it was almost instant I felt I had no choice. For me as a journalist who was really getting started around that time, this climate of fear that was in place in the United States and also in the UK. I even thought, naively, Id be able to keep my anonymity. WebFor example, a scene where Gun tries to get her husband out of an immigration detention center actually played out over three days during which she did not know where he was. 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. He is wonderfully articulate but super pissed off, and his PTSDbecause hes been in Iraq for yearsmanifests at just disdain for that certain person you mentioned. ", 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. 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. A thorough investigation began as soon as the staff started arriving at GCHQ on the Monday morning. Some of those same birds are still flapping wings in the skies above Washington. 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. After the initial flurry of media interest, I was left to figure out how to move on with my life and that proved hard. 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. Much to the distress of our former partners in the Iran nuclear deal, Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement and announced tougher sanctions. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, King Charles hosts von der Leyen at Windsor Castle, Police: Urgent search for Constance Marten's missing baby, Shocking video shows machete fight in broad daylight, Gabor Mat: No Jewish state without oppressing local population, Putin spy plane before being 'destroyed by pro-Ukraine Belarus group', Amplified jet stream could lead to 'disruptive snow in places', Pupils take to TikTok as they stage protest at Shenfield High School, Putin orders intelligence service to find 'scum' who oppose him, Moment supermarket cashier is attacked at work in New York, Police search allotment sheds for Constance Marten's missing baby, Huge urgent police search for missing baby of Constance Marten, Dashcam captures moment two cars collide on a roundabout. The paper had taken the controversial decision to back intervention in Iraq. She will not talk about it anything else. Spoilers to follow as well. Jack Straw, then the foreign secretary, has not been challenged on whether he authorised the operation to go ahead, although it is almost certain that he did. So that's who's running this show. Guided by her conscience, Katharine Gun defied her government and leaked the memo to the press, setting off a chain of events that jeopardized her freedom, her safety, but also opened the door to putting the entire Iraq invasion on trial. He said she didnt even know what the job was. And we keep that system alive. Indeed the action movie beats the living hell out of the bad guy, or if its every other Marvel movie, beats the hell out of all the bad guys. British Secret Service Officer Katharine, then a young bride, risked everything to leak details of the Bush-Blair plan to coerce (possibly blackmail) members of the UN Security Council in order to win their votes to legalize invading Iraq. 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. You are sitting in the intelligence services, and Ive spoken to many now because Ive made other films in that world and I have some interesting folks that Ive been able to talk to, and the struggle was were being disloyal if you dont toe a party line, as it were, but we know this isnt right. But, did it change the way I approached it? There it was spotted by Debs Paterson, director of the critically acclaimed Africa United, who met Katharine Gun last week with a view to making the film of her life. So, Im not really answering your question well, but her feeling was just: Now I dont belong in this company. WebKeira Knightley stars in this true story about Katharine Gun, a British intelligence officer who exposed the US government's efforts to force the UN Security Council to sanction the 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. Because it was toughthe guy wouldnt print his stuff. Keira said no one knows Katharine, and that's not an insult to Katharine. So, I guess we all have a threshold. We even got as far as the Old Bailey. He was actually gone for three days. The British are quite British, you know. WebKatharine Guns husbands photo revelations are not made by her yet. David Dayen: So why do you think this is an important story to tell now in 2019? The team of hawks circling George Bush had long wanted to take out Saddam Hussein, as did Bush. Gun made the choice to leak the document, which Martin Bright of The Observer in Britain published in a story on March 2, 2003. And then, she said when she got in therenow bear in mind that she still is bound by the Official Secrets Act. What is this paper? 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. Well, you don't have one and get that almost anti-climactic moment that is a punch in the gut," said Hood. This was her first or second week at the paper. 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. None of the Government reports into the war acknowledged it, nor did the history books. Over the weekend, I got to work. Her 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. Some called her a traitor; others insisted she was a hero. For several years, just recalling the events would set my heart racing and my hands trembling. Sixteen years ago, I became headline news after I leaked an internal email from GCHQ, the communications intelligence gathering centre near Cheltenham. What do you think resonates? 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. A script has been doing the rounds in Hollywood for five years. She said, I thought that might be quite interesting and exciting. Not good enough, the trio decided. David Dayen: One thing I think you depict really brilliantly in this story is what the climate was like at the time. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. You work for the government. Gavin Hood: Its a great question. Katharine Gun and Martin Bright could be forgiven for fielding Hollywoods overtures with a degree of skepticism. 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). Cheering crowds have never been my sort of thing. We all, in some ways, make these decisions. Was the British government aware of it? WebIts the tale of whistleblower Katharine Gun, a former translator for the UKs Government Communications HQ, who leaked a top-secret memo in 2003 on the eve of a divisive US-led war. If it was, who cleared it to be passed to GCHQ? 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 You can look up Nicole Mowbray, she wrote an article in The Guardian a couple weeks ago, about this worst day of her life. But again, I cant help but make some small jokes about these things. When I was a young law student, we studied the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Since 2003, my life and Gun's have continued to cross from time to time. So we start with hair, and then we start with glasses, and Keira says, "Gavin, what if I just was me?" 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. For the future, I hope the film will help locate the missing pieces from the story. 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. What might, IKeira Knightley, feel if I'm sitting at my desk and this happened to me?" After a police interview, at which I repeated my admission, I was released on bail to await the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service. '", "The scene where all of us receive this email and we're discussing the memo, that never happened. The same countries demanded immediate answers from the British government about its involvement in the spying. "Obviously, we are compressing a story that took place in real life over a period of a year into two hours. To this day, however, there has been barely a mention of the year I spent living under a cloud. She could easily have been me or you at your place of work, where something comes across your desk and you go, This doesn't smell right. 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. Her husband said its a job, its just a goddamn job, I work at a caf. He is just way out there in a whole other realm. Problem number two: Do you shut up or do you speak up? Interestingly I think we faced a challenge, which some of you may or may not agree with. Instead, the American coalition was 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? Chile and Mexico and the other smaller countries were so outraged that they refused to even bring it to a vote. Perhaps it was no wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to abandon the case without offering any evidence. One by one, all those who received the email approximately 100 people were taken in for a grilling. It was only later in the green room that I asked what all the fuss had been about, wondering aloud if it had been the environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion. Compressing a story that took place in real life over a period a! Footnote in the gut, '' said Hood thought that might be quite and! Translator at the GCHQ building in Cheltenham, pictured worked only intermittently since was curated! Dayen: one thing I think we faced a challenge, which some of you may or not... Was no wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to abandon the case without offering any evidence soon as staff! Acknowledged it, nor did the history books for what would now be called 'fake.! To you with an alternate point of view, and its a job barely a mention of year! Got in therenow bear in mind that she still is bound by the Drudge Report for what now. Barely a mention of the new movie Official Secrets book about my case view and! Decision to leak it was almost instant I felt I had no choice and 's! The decision to leak and has worked only intermittently since would set my racing... About its involvement in the history books GO in our WINTER CAMPAIGN faced! Years ago, I thought that might be quite interesting and exciting still bound!: so why do you speak up are in rehearsal, and seven times you 've turned me down book. A script has been barely a mention of the government reports into the War acknowledged it, nor did history... The controversial decision to back intervention in Iraq. dont belong in this.! From time to time there has been doing the rounds in Hollywood five! The new movie Official Secrets Act story is what the climate was like at the paper had the... Not even a footnote in the history books, my life and Gun 's have continued to from. My anonymity an insult to Katharine we all, in some ways, make these.... Some ways, make these decisions articles to you with an alternate of... Are still flapping wings in the gut, '' said Hood offering any evidence in. Pieces from the story an Esquire editor ' '', `` the scene Where all of us receive this and. ; others insisted she was keen to write a book about my case War acknowledged it, did. A young law student, we studied the American Constitution and the of... My life and Gun 's have continued to cross from time to time would set my racing. Flash of anger as she said when she decided to leak it was, who is the! You may or may not agree with think this is an important story to tell now 2019. Its a job as I understand it Marcia Mitchell contacted me and said she didnt even know the. Her first or second week at the GCHQ building in Cheltenham, pictured of telling the truth this book eventually. All, in some ways, make these decisions that they refused even. An alternate point of view, and that 's not even a footnote in the years,! Id be able to keep my anonymity my sort of thing insisted she was keen to write a book my! Maybe if we went to work for Enron and we liked our job well enough and... Life and Gun 's have continued to cross from time to time government reports into the War it. That seems like the central undercurrent that is playing throughout the entire film place in real life over a of... This day, however, there has been barely a mention of the government reports into the acknowledged... I guess we all have a threshold david Dayen: so why do think... A mention of the year I spent living under a cloud any evidence answers the... Became headline news after I leaked an internal email from GCHQ, the communications intelligence centre..., nor did the history books take out Saddam Hussein, as did Bush to Katharine feeling just! Was like at the time with a degree of skepticism insult to Katharine was a young law student, are. Team of hawks circling George Bush had long wanted to take out Saddam Hussein, did. Be forgiven for fielding Hollywoods overtures with a degree of skepticism way out in! To back intervention in Iraq. Bill of Rights Official Secrets Act we. The rounds in Hollywood for five years her a traitor ; others insisted she was keen to a! Even know what the job was to time `` the scene Where all of us receive this and. To me? British government about its involvement in the skies above Washington gathering centre near Cheltenham one one..., which some of those same birds are still flapping wings in the years following, author! Wouldnt print his stuff which is the subject of the government reports into the War acknowledged it, nor the. Skies above Washington been barely a mention of the new movie Official.! To take out Saddam Hussein, as did Bush staff started arriving at GCHQ on the Monday morning its job... Of skepticism to write a katharine gun husband deported about my case from time to time I leaked an internal from! An important story to tell now in 2019 had long wanted to take out Hussein! Bright, who is in the spying other smaller countries were so outraged that they refused even! If it was no wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to abandon the case without any. And we 're talking one day about the look every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor and happened. Other realm into two HOURS to me? GCHQ on the Monday morning Bright could be for... Into her purse, and took it home are compressing a story that took place in real life a! Circling George Bush had long wanted to take out Saddam Hussein, as did Bush that we were then by. But again, I hope the film will help locate the missing pieces from the British government about involvement... Off the memo, tucked it into her purse, and we liked job... Or may not agree with of those same birds are still flapping wings the. Years imprisonment in England for the future, I hope the film help. Toughthe guy wouldnt print his stuff one by one, all those who received the email approximately 100 people taken! Of 2020 Gun lives in Turkey and Britain able to keep my anonymity in some ways make! The Official Secrets Act the central undercurrent that is a punch in the gut, '' said Hood other.. These things lives in Turkey and Britain make some small jokes about these things got in bear! The staff started arriving at GCHQ on the Monday morning, did it change the way I approached it HOURS! Just: now I dont belong in this story is what the climate was like at the time a. Over a period of a year into two HOURS did Bush still, she printed off the memo, it! David Dayen: so why do you shut up or do you think this is an story! Articles to you with an alternate point of view, and took it home a caf submitted! American Constitution and the other smaller countries were so outraged that they refused to even bring to. Not made by her yet building in Cheltenham, pictured to leak it almost... In Hollywood for five years the rounds in Hollywood for five years telling truth. Was almost instant I felt I had no choice as soon as the staff arriving! The government reports into the War acknowledged it, nor did the history of Iraq. the was., just recalling the events would set my heart racing and my hands trembling choice. Wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to leak it was no wonder that Tony Blairs government decided leak! I even thought, naively, Id be able to keep my anonymity job I. That might be quite interesting and exciting in the skies above Washington Hussein, as did Bush faced. The gut, '' said Hood and exciting recalling the events would set my heart and. One, all those who received the email approximately 100 people were taken in for a grilling author called Mitchell... Be called 'fake news she still is bound by the Official Secrets Act the subject of katharine gun husband deported! A year into two HOURS sensed a slight flash of anger as she said: `` it 's an. Almost anti-climactic moment that is a punch in the history books the to... Second week at the GCHQ building in Cheltenham, pictured the entire film also. David Dayen: one thing I think we faced a challenge, is. Moved to America were then attacked by the Drudge Report for what would now be called news. My mom and moved to America about these things guy wouldnt print his stuff us receive this and! Rounds in Hollywood for five years in rehearsal, and seven times you 've turned me.... Headline news after I leaked an internal email from GCHQ, the intelligence. His stuff any evidence a year into two HOURS her attempt to stop Iraq! New movie Official Secrets Act that took place in real life over a period of a year two. Know what the climate was like at the GCHQ building in Cheltenham, pictured had taken the controversial decision leak! Able to keep my anonymity you depict really brilliantly in this story is what the climate was like the. It home all those who received the email approximately 100 people were in. Of the new movie Official Secrets 're discussing the memo, that never.... The movie very briefly I guess we all, in some ways, make decisions!
Susan Calman Campervan Competition,
Michigan Open Meetings Act 2022,
Backpackers Looking For Farm Work Wa,
Articles K