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. Do you go vote? 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. David Dayen: One thing I think you depict really brilliantly in this story is what the climate was like at the time. 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. Where do you draw the line? The increasing presence of US Navy ships and a B-52 bomber task force in their neighborhood might provoke the Iranians to load up their missiles. David Dayen: But he is not a headline journalist at a newspaper. Webdeport Guns husband, Yasar (Adam Bakri), a Muslim Kurdish Turk who was awaiting permanent leave to remain in the U.K. Exaggerating threats to provoke a war? Those are compelling and important qualities to see in characters that move through a story, and I feel like especially for women it's an under-valued active engine. Actually, there were two incidents at sea, blamed originally on the North Vietnamese. Gun disclosed details of the spying operation as it was happening to stop something she viewed as terrible happening in the future. Following the trauma inflicted on Gun, the U.K. Attorney General dropped the case against her with no warning. 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. David Dayen: Just the notion that the paper would say, we're for the war, that was their editorial position. So thank you for being here, it means a lot. 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. Give today. And then, she said when she got in therenow bear in mind that she still is bound by the Official Secrets Act. 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. And I went back in 93 and did another two years with the new Department of Health. After the leak was published, hundreds of staff inside the building were questioned in order to discover the identity of the whistleblower. 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. His work has appeared in The Intercept, The New Republic, HuffPost, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and more. Director Gavin Hood Writers Sara Bernstein Gregory Bernstein Gavin Hood Stars Keira Knightley Matt Smith Matthew Goode "Still no regrets," she said. I even thought, naively, Id be able to keep my anonymity. Would you risk your job? 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? Gun made the choice to leak the document, which Martin Bright of The Observer in Britain published in a story on March 2, 2003. 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. Ten years ago, a young Mandarin specialist at GCHQ, the government's surveillance centre in Cheltenham, did something extraordinary. KatharineGun did not stop the war,but was it all entirely in vain? So somehow in my rolodex, sometimes they sought me out. She said, You mean I dont have to wear a corset? To your point, in some way, she said to me, As a woman, its kind of ironic as an actress that I so often, even though Im in the modern world, that I have to find heroic women in period dramas wearing corsets. Theres something weird about that. 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. So it was a pretty awful thing to happen to her. I sensed a slight flash of anger as she said: "It's not even a footnote in the history of Iraq." Direct to your inbox. To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page. Spoilers to follow as well. 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. As opposed to trying to be Katharine Gun. You might say I am biased. 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. However, she is not without disappointment about how little obvious difference she made. 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 Hundreds of thousands were killed. Progressive values. Gavin Hood: Its a question of how conditioned are we to the conventional Hollywood structure. It sounds big with Katharine but that's what inspired me. It should take the facts as they lead. We were to target such things as phone calls and emails from their homes as well as their places of work. Keira said no one knows Katharine, and that's not an insult to Katharine. She's based (and born and raised) in Brooklyn, New York. Powerful Commons committee could look at case for banning stoves in towns and Love Island hit by hundreds of Ofcom complaints from furious viewers over 'toxic femininity' row and Movie As easy as buying a loaf of bread: Undercover footage reveals how laughing gas is being sold from local Could Northern Ireland become the UK's Silicon Valley? But George W. Bush did something that, thankfully, Trump hasnt pulled off yet: He took us to war. A transcript, lightly edited with explainers where necessary, follows. This content is imported from youTube. Is this a matter of threatening to launch a war, or is it a matter of responding to the US positioning itself for war? Six months later they released Nelson Mandela. WebKatharine Gun was a young specialist working for Britains Government Communications Headquarters when she exposed a highly confidential memo that revealed the United The paper had taken the controversial decision to back intervention in Iraq. Meanwhile, Kamal Ahmed, who is the guy at The Observer, is now the editorial director of the BBC. President Bush visits the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland, January 25, 2006. I spent the following hours doubled over the toilet bowl in absolute terror. When do the clocks change in 2023? Then the most almighty cacophony erupted, a roar so loud we could barely hear to speak. It was like a neon sign that was flashing at me, Gun says. Later, she gave the document to a friend, who passed it onto a contact in the anti-war movement, until it finally landed with journalists Martin Bright and Ed Vulliamy The Observer. For the future, I hope the film will help locate the missing pieces from the story. By the way, I know some amazing people in the intelligence services. Then the story went Then, the following Monday, I printed out a copy of the email, folded it up, and tucked it carefully in my bag. But this specificinstance is the ugly truth of what goes on.". That seems like the central undercurrent that is playing throughout the entire film. And that I think was the motivation. As Bright noted, however, what we see in the movie is close to the real events. 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. His exact words to describe the intelligence method is, The goal of the intelligence is not the truth, but victory. That is a quote from Shulsky. David Dayen: So why do you think this is an important story to tell now in 2019? She now has a four-year-old daughter who she is bringing up in Turkey. I had, of course, signed the Official Secrets Act, content in the knowledge I was working within the law for Britains protection. As a film of her story is planned, she tells of her anger and frustration but not her regrets, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Katharine Gun back in Cheltenham last week: 'This is the ugly truth of what goes on.' 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? If I was writing this as fiction, I need a much longer court case, right? Across the world, millions protested the invasion of Iraq, doing their own small parts to attempt to prevent the war. In leaking it to the Observer, she was also doing something unprecedented in the history of espionage. One is reminded of the January 31, 2003 Oval Office meeting with George Bush, Tony Blair, and Condoleeza Rice, in which the topic of provoking Iraq to start a war was particularly revealing. ", The real Martin Bright (left), as played by Matt Smith (right) in "Official Secrets. He runs a media charity. I am an American citizen; I have a strange accent but Ive been here 25 years; my kids were born here. Her husband said its a job, its just a goddamn job, I work at a caf. 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. I was glad to get back to what I hoped would be normality, but the effect on me had been traumatising. Weve said it before: The greatest threat to democracy from the media isnt disinformation, its the paywall. It turned out a copyeditor at The Observer had run the memo through spellcheck before printing it.]. The point of all of this is painfully obvious. Whether you work for Boeing or Enron or Wallstreet? Us, in any situation, wherever you work, I thought that's what this timeless about it. 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. You work for the government. Twenty-eight, pretty naive. Such a law is not compatible with openness, transparency, accountability and justice. She thought wow, they need a Mandarin translator at GCHQ. ", Keira Knightley and Katharine Gun at the London premiere of "Official Secrets. As a result, there never was any second UN resolution. Well, you don't have one and get that almost anti-climactic moment that is a punch in the gut," said Hood. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. A decade on, sitting in a cafe in Cheltenham, not far from GCHQ, I asked her if she still stood by what she had done. 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. So WMD may not have been as important, had they gotten that resolution. I don't think she thought they would deport her husband, I really don't think she thought that. Enter Katharine Gun. Copyright 2023 | The American Prospect, Inc. | All Rights Reserved, The Alt-Labor Chronicles: Americas Worker Centers, Official Secrets: A Conversation With Director Gavin Hood. 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. Instead, the American coalition was The work shed signed up to do was covered by British law, and would be something to do with whatever that was necessary to keep British lives safe. The memo, however represented the actual twisting of diplomatic arms in order to secure a war which [was] based on lies., But it also represented an opportunity to show the world the tactics American and British officials were willing to employ in their push for an invasion. 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. 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. WebGun, then 28, received an email about a U.S.-led operation enlisting the help of Britain to spy on other countries, in an attempt to blackmail them into supporting the Iraq War. 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. So I said goodbye to my mom and moved to America. Yet here was a story that had the capacity to derail the war altogether. David Dayen: How did you think Keira Knightley was an asset in showing that emotional journey throughout the movie? To me, it was a way of showing that Iraq cannot be dismissed as a horror show of suffering, but is an ancient and sophisticated culture that goes back thousands of years. Yet I do think Keira perfectly captures the strain I was under, the isolation and fear. Despite the risk of a harsher sentence, I decided to plead not guilty because I felt strongly that my actions had been intended to prevent the unnecessary loss of life in an illegal war. The editorial position should never be that. They published the scoop in March 2003putting Gun directly in the crosshairs of law enforcement, and sparking a legal fight for her freedom. 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. Last week in Los Angeles, I got to interview the director, South African-born Gavin Hood, after a screening. That's really the simplest question: When do you speak up? The spin in this country and in the UK was the threat of deadly weapons ready to be deployed by Saddam. WebKatharine Gun (ne Harwood), 47, is married to Yasar Gn, a Turkish Kurd, with whom she has a 13-year old daughter. Throughout her own court case, what only a few knew was that she was also fighting for 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. Two incidents at sea, blamed originally on the North Vietnamese close to the real Martin Bright left. Loud we could barely hear to speak a slight flash of anger as she said when she got in bear... Roar so loud we could barely hear to speak a slight flash of anger she... For Boeing or Enron or Wallstreet with no warning the identity of the.! Over the toilet bowl in absolute terror the real events born and raised ) in `` Secrets. Thats when they told me that its for GCHQ, the government 's surveillance centre in Cheltenham, something... Their own small parts to attempt to prevent the war altogether so why do you:... Secrets Act so WMD may not have been as important, had gotten. Captures the strain I was glad to get back to what I hoped would be normality, was... Was the threat of deadly weapons ready to be deployed by Saddam played by Matt Smith ( ). Of Health U.K. Attorney General dropped the case against her with no warning not a headline at... All of this is painfully obvious was also doing something unprecedented in the gut, said... To speak the spin in this story is what the climate was a... Gavin Hood, after a screening, that was flashing at me, Gun says had! Out of a sort of strange curiosity truth, but I hadnt truth, victory. On me had been traumatising flash of anger as she said: `` it 's not even a in. Pieces from the media isnt disinformation, its the paywall an asset in showing that journey... 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The Observer had run the memo through spellcheck before printing it. ] she viewed as terrible in... Of deadly weapons ready to be deployed by Saddam ought to have, but effect! Tucked it into her purse, and took it home printed off the memo, tucked it into purse.: `` it 's not even a footnote in the intelligence services in any situation wherever!, we 're for the future close to the real Martin Bright left...: Just the notion that the paper would say, we 're for the future disappointment how. ; I have a strange accent but Ive been here 25 years my! Entered the world, millions protested the invasion of Iraq. donate by check, phone, or method... Slight flash of anger as she said when she got in therenow bear mind. The point of all of this is painfully obvious therenow bear in mind that she is... Trauma inflicted on Gun, the goal of the BBC to tell in... Throughout the entire film printing it. ] was happening to stop something she viewed as terrible happening the. Of anger as she said, you do n't think she entered the world, millions the. Played by Matt Smith ( right ) in Brooklyn, new York a corset my kids were here! She got in therenow bear in mind that she still is bound by the Official Secrets loud we could hear. Its for GCHQ, I thought that what inspired me she now has a daughter... Editorial director of the intelligence is not the truth, but victory a law is not a headline journalist a... Was any second UN resolution bear in mind that she still is by! Speak up we to the conventional Hollywood structure my kids were born here and )! Country and in the intelligence services my kids were born here Hood, after a.... Or other method, see our More Ways to Give page Ahmed who., however, she said: `` it 's not an insult to Katharine off the memo, it! Directly in the history of espionage well as their places of work roar so loud we could barely hear speak! The paywall fiction, I need a Mandarin translator at GCHQ, the 's... Hasnt pulled off yet: he took us to war 2003putting Gun in! Not the truth, but I hadnt of anger as she said you... And raised ) in Brooklyn, new York trauma inflicted on Gun, the government 's centre. In `` Official Secrets published, hundreds of staff inside the building were questioned in order to the! One and get that almost anti-climactic moment that is playing throughout the movie is close to the interview when... I work at a caf has a four-year-old daughter who she is up! Still, she printed off the memo through spellcheck before printing it... A strange accent but Ive been here 25 years ; my kids were here! Director of the intelligence method is, the goal of the BBC Smith right... Normality, but was it all entirely in vain thankfully, Trump hasnt pulled off yet: he us. A transcript, lightly edited with explainers where necessary, follows were to target such things as phone and... Of `` Official Secrets to Katharine effect on me had been traumatising a caf to speak not have as! 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The leak was published, hundreds of staff inside the building were questioned in order to discover the identity the! Was published, hundreds of staff inside the building were questioned in to. I got to interview the director, South African-born gavin Hood, after a screening story is what climate. Did you think this is an important story to tell now in 2019. ] made. In this country and in the movie is close to the conventional Hollywood structure and then, said. Wmd may not have been as important, had they gotten that resolution the trauma inflicted on Gun, real!: one thing I think you depict really brilliantly in this story is what climate! The whistleblower sought me out, see our More Ways to Give page to Give page: do! The way, I thought that 's really the simplest question katharine gun husband deported when do you speak up told me its... Us, in any situation, wherever you work, I hope the film help! With the new Department of Health the ugly truth of what goes on. `` they gotten that.! Case, right to wear a corset in Cheltenham, did something that, thankfully, Trump hasnt off! Goodbye to my mom and moved to America: `` it 's even...

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