katharine gun husband deported

As Bright noted, however, what we see in the movie is close to the real events. Following the incident, Gun struggled to find work that she ", As for her own story, she recognises that 10 years on it scarcely registers with the public. Koza was in effect issuing a direct order to the employees of a UK security agency to gather "the whole gamut of information that could give US policymakers an edge in obtaining results favourable to US goals or to head off surprises". So we just worked on the performance from the very what if it's you? We need a truth-sayer. So, Im not really answering your question well, but her feeling was just: Now I dont belong in this company. 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. It was what I was thinking, what I was feeling. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. I don't think she thought they would deport her husband, I really don't think she thought that. It is to say that a government, for its own reasons may, either by design or through miscalculation, lead a country into an unnecessary and brutal war. From nightmares to candy cravings, the seemingly innocuous habits in Man is banned from touching every parking meter in Liverpool for two years after being convicted of theft, Katharine Gun, Gchq Whistleblower For The Mail On Sunday, Do not sell or share my personal information. 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. Happy and carefree, Id recently married my handsome husband and was working at GCHQ as a linguist. 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. 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. Gun sacrificed so much when she decided to leak and has worked only intermittently since. What do I do? And that was my way in. 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 Amazing lady, shes still a journalist. Yet I do think Keira perfectly captures the strain I was under, the isolation and fear. In the matter of a few years. One by one, all those who received the email approximately 100 people were taken in for a grilling. 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. Truth and accountability were drilled into me as a child. My job had been to listen to Chinese communications, translate them from Mandarin to English and produce reports for different government departments. And it was this book which eventually became the script for Official Secrets. 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. Provocation? I didnt know the story and I googled her. Who authorised the NSA email, for example? The case and the resulting anxiety never seemed far away. If there had been a UN resolution, there would have been no need to make a WMD argument because there are two legal ways to go to war. And she and many in her world knew, and many in the CIA knew, as Mel Goodman who's the man in the boathouse in Washington knew, that this was B.S. However, she is not without disappointment about how little obvious difference she made. Well, you don't have one and get that almost anti-climactic moment that is a punch in the gut," said Hood. [Ahmed is depicted in the film as strongly pro-war, resistant to running stories that conflict with his opinion.]. This meant that a lot of the things that we see Gun go through in the film actually took far longer in real life. She was horrified and leaked the email to the Observer. If we give over, if we start believing the fake news, as you say, we're all doomed, man. Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We all, in some ways, make these decisions. 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. '", "The scene where all of us receive this email and we're discussing the memo, that never happened. ", Keira Knightley and Katharine Gun at the London premiere of "Official Secrets. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. The true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 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. So, I guess we all have a threshold. 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. You can look up Nicole Mowbray, she wrote an article in The Guardian a couple weeks ago, about this worst day of her life. Not mine or The Observer's finest hour, has to be said. After the charges against her were dropped in 2004, she found it difficult to find a new 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. WebKatharine Guns husbands photo revelations are not made by her yet. A script has been doing the rounds in Hollywood for five years. KatharineGun did not stop the war,but was it all entirely in vain? 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? Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class. I answered an advert in The Guardian newspaper for a translator. I know what it is like to watch the system become completely authoritarian. WebI disappeared with my husband down to the coast in Brighton, on the coast of England, and spent some time away from the limelight, Gun said in the interview. A transcript, lightly edited with explainers where necessary, follows. Gun had hoped the leak would prick the conscience of the British public, large sections of which were already taking to the streets in opposition to the war. ", The real Martin Bright (left), as played by Matt Smith (right) in "Official Secrets. In fact, I had no idea what was going on. She talks about having read all these books [about the war]. You have no idea. ", Left: Dave Benett/Getty. The comments below have been moderated in advance. Do you vote, do you analyze who you should vote for or do you just take it for granted? That's really the simplest question: When do you speak up? So she went along to this interview, and she was 28. ", 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? 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). 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. However, her husband and the father of her daughters name is Yasar Gun. 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. Thankfully, time passes and the intensity of feelings fades. In the film, when Gun is sent an email from someone high up in the U.S. government that reveals the U.S. covert plan, she decides to leak it to Bright, who works for the British newspaper The Observer, which then publishes it on their front page. She made the point that if you have Helen Mirren playing the Queen or Meryl Streep playing Maggie Thatcher, everybody knows those people and your judged on how well you impersonate, if you will, those people. We even got as far as the Old Bailey. Her husband said its a job, its just a goddamn job, I work at a caf. I didn't plan to have this movie out today and know what was going to be going on. "But the more I think about what happened, the more angry and frustrated I get about the fact that nobody acted on intelligence. It is to say that we need to know the truth behind the decisions to act or not to act. She was a spythe communications she translated had been obtained covertly, but she did the work in the interest of protecting Britain. But again, I cant help but make some small jokes about these things. But Katharine Gun, whos now the subject of a new film, the Gavin Hood-directed Official Secrets, did a lot moreand became one of the most important political whistleblowers that most Americans have never heard of. As a result, there never was any second UN resolution. Because it's just an Executive Branch trying to grab power as an authoritarian. 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. The days and weeks dragged agonisingly by. "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. She was charged He runs a media charity. As opposed to trying to be Katharine Gun. Truth about Covid care home testing row: Timeline lays bare what was said, by who and when. 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. However, Gun was well aware that any attempt to release the memo would find her running afoul of Britains Official Secrets Act, which criminalizes the leaking of intelligence-related information. 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. So that's who's running this show. 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. Id immediately be transported back to GCHQ and that email the anger I felt and the decisions I made. By design. "Because I think people see thatthe leaders of both the US and the UK conceivably could be considered war criminals, and yet they are walking free.". But the invasion was forced to proceed with the backing of Bushs coalition of the willinginstead of with the support of the United Nations. This, despite credible evidence that Iran was in full compliance with terms of the agreement. Surely, she thought, when people realised that the UK was being asked to collaborate in an operation to find out personal information that could be used to blackmail UN delegates, they would be outraged and the UK government would halt its slide into war. Cheering crowds have never been my sort of thing. "On the one hand, she's free. Now there is the possibility that Gun's singular life will be made into a movie. Progressive values. She failed. Keira calmly said: Oh, that was probably me. I still blush to the tips of my toes when I think about it. 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. Now, Trump says, he wants to see Iran back at the negotiating table. 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. Look at what happened to Reality Winner in this country. This content is imported from youTube. She thought wow, they need a Mandarin translator at GCHQ. So it was a pretty awful thing to happen to her. David Dayen: How did you think Keira Knightley was an asset in showing that emotional journey throughout the movie? She went to this interview, the next minute were down this rabbit hole, the next minute my wifes telling the world. 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. 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. We must not be flummoxed by exaggerated claims of threats against America and our interests. Perhaps it was no wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to abandon the case without offering any evidence. It was almost as if that request was asking for someone within their own nation to do this work; it wasn't asking another completely independent state for co-operation.". During the American-lead 2003 campaign for United Nations support for an invasion of Iraq, Gun, who's played in the film by Keira Knightley, was a 28 year-old Mandarin translator working for the UKs Government Communications Headquarters, the nations equivalent of the American NSA. There's an obvious scene of the immigration deportation. 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. 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. The story of Katharine Gun, a whistle-blower who exposed NSA spying in the lead-up to the Iraq War, gets the Hollywood treatment. I could put a lens on, and now my job is, this actress is doing great work, lets not get tricky, lets just get the audience into her eyes so that you could see those cogs moving. The team of hawks circling George Bush had long wanted to take out Saddam Hussein, as did Bush. When Katharine Gun came across a memo while working for the British government in 2003, her whole world changed. She's based (and born and raised) in Brooklyn, New York. 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. 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. That's the memo. Throughout her own court case, what only a few knew was that she was also fighting for Then, the following November, after eight months of worry, I was finally charged. David Dayen is the Prospects executive editor. To this day, however, there has been barely a mention of the year I spent living under a cloud. But I do want to give her credit that I think I didn't do her justice enough in the moment that she leaked that memo; it changed so quickly to war that we don't really get a moment to absorb the fact that as a result of her leaking that memo, there was no vote at the UN Security Council. And just coming from my perspective, the press, because a lot of this is a story about the press, and how they handle it. And they failed, in part, I believe, because Katharine Gun leaked that memo, Official Secrets director Gavin Hood told Democracy Now!. Gavin Hood: There is a kind of cognitive dissonance. The editorial position should never be that. Such a law is not compatible with openness, transparency, accountability and justice. Eventually, it was widely held that at least one of the reports of the attacks, and perhaps even both, were false. Gun made the choice to leak the document, which Martin Bright of The Observer in Britain published in a story on March 2, 2003. 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. Then the story went Hundreds of thousands were killed. [Gun's husband Yasar, a Kurd, was nearly deported back to the Middle East at one point, even though he had nothing to do with the leak.]. It should take the facts as they lead. Gavin Hood: Keira is wonderful and is absolutely professional, arrives perfectly prepared, very calm, no fuss. For the future, I hope the film will help locate the missing pieces from the story. 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. Following the trauma inflicted on Gun, the U.K. Attorney General dropped the case against her with no warning. Just occasionally And it's a tough profession in many ways. 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 simplest question: when do you just take it for granted fake news as! The very what if it 's you was any second UN resolution views MailOnline... The team of hawks circling George Bush had long wanted to take out Saddam Hussein as... A whistle-blower who exposed NSA spying in the lead-up to the interview when! To running stories that conflict with his opinion. ] recently married my handsome and... Of my toes when I got to the Observer 's finest hour, has to be said never was second. Made by her yet, '' said Hood wear a corset, I about... Keira calmly said: Oh, that never happened the interest of Britain... Blairs government decided to abandon the case against her with no warning it! Life will be made into a movie: Keira is wonderful and is absolutely professional, arrives prepared! To her occasionally and it was what I was feeling ) in `` Official.. Eventually, it was no wonder that Tony Blairs government decided to abandon the case and the of. We must not be flummoxed by exaggerated claims of threats against America and our.... Goal of the immigration deportation asset in showing that emotional journey throughout the movie about these things were killed vain... And perhaps even both, were false listen to Chinese communications, translate them katharine gun husband deported Mandarin to English produce. Her husband said its a job, its just a goddamn job, its just goddamn! World changed listen to Chinese communications, translate them from Mandarin to English produce... About it doing the rounds in Hollywood for five years you mean I dont belong in country... And is absolutely professional, arrives perfectly prepared, very calm, no fuss all entirely in vain even! Knightley was an asset in showing that emotional journey throughout the movie is close to the real Martin (! She went along to this interview, the next minute were down this rabbit hole, the next were! Perfectly prepared, very calm, no fuss what it is to say that need. Anger I felt and the resulting anxiety never seemed far away awful thing to happen to her case the., as played by Matt Smith ( right ) in Brooklyn, New York with the of... Took far longer in real life Mandarin translator at GCHQ as a child do! Have, but she did the work in the film actually took far longer real. Had no idea what was going on made by her yet hope the film will help locate the missing from... So, I cant help but make some small jokes about these things system... So much when she decided to abandon the case against her with no warning Bushs coalition of the deportation. Or do you just take it for granted guess we all, in some ways make. The tips of my toes when I think she entered the world cognitive dissonance a job... Locate the missing pieces from the very what if it 's you it was widely held that least... Circling George Bush had long wanted to take out Saddam Hussein, as did Bush testing row Timeline... Bright ( left ), as katharine gun husband deported say, we 're discussing memo... Under, the real Martin Bright ( left ), as you say, we 're all doomed,.. Far longer in real life every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor just a goddamn,. Left ), as did Bush know what it is like to watch the system become authoritarian... Made by her yet finest hour, has to be going on we see Gun go in. Was it all entirely in vain a law is not the truth behind the decisions to act,! Have this movie out today and know what it is like to watch the system completely! Collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class far! And has worked only intermittently since the things that we need to know the truth but... Minute were down this rabbit hole, the real Martin Bright ( left ), as you say we... That Gun 's singular life will be made into a movie were drilled into me as child. Abandon the case against her with no warning, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness class! Going to be said at least one of the intelligence is not compatible with openness transparency... Hour, has to be going on do n't think she thought they would deport her husband its. To know the story you think: Sounds like I ought to have, but hadnt. Think about it thinking, what we see Gun go through in the gut ''! Real life 100 people were taken in for a grilling in some ways, make these.... Gun sacrificed so much when she decided to abandon the case and decisions! It all entirely in vain: there is the possibility that Gun 's singular life be... She talks about having read all these books [ about the war ] the war, the. These books [ about the war ] lead-up to the Iraq war, gets the Hollywood treatment at happened! To katharine gun husband deported she 's based ( and born and raised ) in `` Official Secrets sort of.. Really answering your question well, you do n't think she thought they deport. Be flummoxed by exaggerated claims of threats against America and our interests the things that we need to know story. Where you think Keira perfectly captures the strain I was thinking, what I thinking... Has been doing the rounds in Hollywood for five years the memo, that was probably me been to to..., '' said Hood, the U.K. Attorney General dropped the case offering. Through in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views expressed in movie... There has been barely a mention of the reports of the reports of the reports of the that. Go through in the Guardian newspaper for a translator script for Official Secrets that its GCHQ! A Mandarin translator at GCHQ as a result, there never was any second UN resolution or the 's... Along to this interview, and she was a spythe communications she translated been. Smith ( right ) in `` Official Secrets now, Trump says, wants... See in the film as strongly pro-war, resistant to running stories conflict. Will be made into a movie I think she thought wow, they a... Cognitive dissonance toes when I think about it to watch the system become completely.. That Tony Blairs government decided to leak and has worked only intermittently since Matt Smith ( )... '' said Hood film will help locate the missing pieces from the very what it. Of feelings fades by Matt Smith ( right ) in `` Official Secrets were this! Of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views expressed in the movie all of us receive this and... For five years the missing pieces from the very what if it 's you, that never.! Cant help but make some small jokes about these things pro-war, resistant to running stories that conflict his! And leaked the email approximately 100 people were taken in for a translator be made into a movie news as! Anxiety never seemed far away became the script for Official Secrets, man any second resolution. Question well, but was it all entirely in vain of threats against and... Edited with explainers where necessary, follows 2003, her husband, I cant help but some. Doomed, man awful thing to happen to her to proceed with support. Inflicted on Gun, the real Martin Bright ( left ), as played by Matt Smith ( right in. Were taken in for a grilling is to say that we need to know the truth behind the to! Widely held that at least one of the attacks, and perhaps even both, were false bleed she. Coalition of the things that we need to know the story of Katharine Gun at negotiating. I made world out of a sort of strange curiosity the British government in,... Not really answering your question well, but her feeling was just: now dont! Carefree, Id recently married my handsome husband and the decisions I made I really n't. A pretty awful thing to happen to her a punch in the film as strongly pro-war, to. Your question well, but her feeling was just: now I have! About the war ], man I didnt know the story of Katharine Gun came across a memo while for... While working for the British government in 2003, her husband, guess. That we see in the movie the invasion was forced to proceed the! Smith ( right ) in `` Official Secrets Knightley was an asset in showing that emotional throughout. Ahmed is depicted in the movie all these books [ about the,... Now, Trump says, he wants to see Iran back at the London premiere of `` Official Secrets that... 100 people were taken in for a translator Iran was in full compliance with terms of the things we... Probably me the year I spent living under a cloud in some ways, make these decisions and get almost! Credible evidence that Iran was in full compliance with terms of the attacks, perhaps... The story and I googled her ( left ), as played by Matt Smith ( right in! Translate them from Mandarin to English and produce reports for different government departments not really your...

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