what happened to katharine gun husband

I mean, I literallyI couldnt eat. Don't worry, we won't share or sell your information. Her father had studied Chinese at Durham University and now teaches at Tunghai University in the city of Taichung, central Taiwan. The cop says, you know, Heres your ticket. Youre guilty of breaking the speed, but youre guilty of a crime. Oh, yeah. Yes. Whatever you think of Kamala Harris, you can say, Which America do you want? What was he telling Blair until the 11th hour, where he changed his mind, it seems, at the 11th hour, and said, 'Oh, well, you can justify on the basis of Resolution 678 from 1991,' this fringe idea that no decent international lawyerand Im an ex-lawyerbelieves to be even remotely sensible?. Were on the set. I heard things that stuck. I hope when shes ready for this story, she will [see the film]. This is notthis fringe idea of the war has never ended since 1991, what nonsense. I mean, MI6 couldnt do that. Ed Vulliamys character, played by Rhys Ifans in the film, says, you know, he effing caved at the time when his country needed him most. I was aware I was doing something I wasnt supposed to be doing. Gavin Hoods 2019 film Official Secrets is the thrilling political drama that explores the events that followed British linguist Guns 2003 media leak. This was a huge story, crushed by a bigger story. At the time, Katharine Gun was working for Britains Government Communications Headquarters, known as GCHQ. And he was the barrister who ultimately put the case before the court, as short as that trial was, on behalf of Katharine, and came up with a truly original defense to the Official Secrets Act, which is the defense of necessity. Gun thinks she might speak out more considering the current state of political affairs and massive citizen involvement in sociopolitical issues. I could not get it in. " Gun tails off, as if embarrassed to make too grand a claim for herself. Ten years ago, a young Mandarin specialist at GCHQ, the government's surveillance centre in Cheltenham, did something extraordinary. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. As of 2019[update] she has lived in Turkey with her husband and daughter for several years. We, as a collective group of countries, decide that we need to stop an event, a humanitarian disaster or a genocide or whatever. And I justI just determined to deny it. Why did you come in? MARTIN BRIGHT: Not until around the time of the trial. I mean, I think we did feel that we journalisticallyyou know, we could have done more as a newspaper. [2] In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to The Observer, concerning a request by the United States for compromising intelligence on diplomats from member states of the 2003 Security Council. When he didnt come out, I was panicking, you know, and I ran inside. The film stars Ma. There was a feeling ofas what you felt, Ed, in this case, yeah. Gun leaked the memo to the press in 2003, setting off a chain of events that jeopardized her freedom and safety, but also opened the door to putting the entire legality of the Iraq invasion on trial. delivered to your inbox every day! A full trial might have exposed any such documents to public scrutiny, as the defence was expected to argue that trying to stop an unlawful war of aggression outweighed Gun's obligations under the Official Secrets Act. Gun was defended by Alex Bailin KC. She knows what it's like to have her face slapped, her bones broken and her nose bloodied by her former bully of a husband, an active Marine Colonel and a man who she claims is "above the law and literally gets away with murder." AMY GOODMAN: Youre watching that on television. Few are aware that her husband had also been thrown into troubled waters when Gun blew the lid off the alleged spy efforts in 2003. What's more, her decision and movement to expose lies about the Iraq invasion made it be titled as the courageous and vital leak as per Democracy Now. But jokes aside, the reason she said to methe reason I constantly find myself going. Strange concept, but you do. AMY GOODMAN: And then what happened? Keira Knightley plays Katharine Gun in the film Official Secrets (Photo: eOne) Now living quietly in Turkey, Gun has been thrust into the global spotlight once again . And its sothe nonpermanent members, who realized they were being hacked and their personal things were beingin order to try and blackmail them into a vote. Katharine Teresa Gun (ne Harwood;[1] born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). AMY GOODMAN: Gavin, introduce us to Ben Emmerson. The Observers front page story on 2 March 2003. Of course I did, yes. AMY GOODMAN: And this is a critical moment, when you say October, because thats when the U.S. Senate voted to authorize war. How dodo they join the dots? And the situation, the toxic abomination of Brexit in our country, has sort of rehabilitated Blair in a sort of bizarre way. The film, Official Secrets, comes out officially at the end of August. Starring Kiera Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, and Ralph Fiennes in pivotal roles, the film is one of the more accurate cinematic explorations of real-life instances. AMY GOODMAN: The horror of what you did not succeed in preventing, though, which was the deaths of so many in Iraq, and that continues today, but you certainly touched the conscience of not just the nation, but the world, in what you did, talking about what womanwhat one woman could do. So how am I, with my tiny team of researchers, going to do anything like that? And so, its one of those moments where you realizeI mean, the chill went up my spine, like I thought, Ive got to get out of here. So, yes, that was not a good moment, yeah. Do you think shed meet with me? Because I think we were both a little skeptical of each other. ED VULLIAMY: Yes. So, where is Gun now? We still dont know who within the American administration ordered the operation. Indeed, your point about Bush is right. And we can say that, you know, thatso, he comes back, under all this pressure. And they say, Were not even going to vote on this resolution. And the next day, we invade. [5] While waiting to hear whether she would be charged, Gun embarked on a postgraduate degree course in global ethics at the University of Birmingham. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, who wrote the memo. Details at membership.theguardian.com. Hood uses chemistry among each character to bring them to life. And I went back to Martin. AMY GOODMAN: The networks, like Fox, and The Drudge Report, CNN refused to interview you, saying that this couldnt be a real memo because, unfortunately, your newspaper translated it into British. AMY GOODMAN: You mean period dramas of strong women have to be a hundred years ago. MARTIN BRIGHT: But once everyone did, there waswe knew that there was somethingthere was something going on. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. I think most people have red lines that they wont cross. We're looking at the real-life political thriller of a British intelligence specialist, Katharine Gun, who risked everything to blow the whistle on U.S. dirty tricks at the United Nations in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003. So a very big story got crushed very quickly. Zooey Zephyr, Montanas First Trans Lawmaker, Speaks Out After Being Banned & Silenced by Republicans, Rising Tide of Fascism: Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones Warns of GOPs Growing Embrace of Authoritarianism, Courage Is Contagious: Zooey Zephyr & Justin Jones on the GOPs Silencing of State Lawmakers, Provocative & Dangerous: Biden to Send Nuclear-Armed Subs to South Korea as Activists Demand Peace, Oklahoma Parole Board Denies Clemency for Richard Glossip, Rejecting Plea from State Attorney General. And he says, Well, I called Elizabeth Wilmshurst, who is the assistant attorney general, who had resigned. Therefore, it is not surprising that Gun chose to move away from the center point of all the chaos once it died down. KATHARINE GUN: Yeah. [12] At the time, the reasons for the Attorney-General to drop the case were murky. And at some point, with great respect to Lord Goldsmith, he caves. Katharine Gun was a young specialist working for Britains Government Communications Headquarters when she exposed a highly confidential memo that revealed the United States was working with the United Kingdom to collect sensitive information on United Nations Security Council members in order to pressure them into supporting the Iraq invasion. And I dont know how authentic it appeared to the person interviewing me, but I just felt terrible. You work for the British government, her interrogator said, with a sneer. Mr. Davies, in his book, has done more recently, AMY GOODMAN: And he said to you, Martin, at least in the film, This will jeopardize our access.. So, you get this memo. It is not often that a persons character is revealed in two sentences. First day, what did you feel? And, with great respect, I think he did. Now, that doesnt mean we shouldnt try to hold them to account. I think of journalists as being bullet-proof in a way, she says, but obviously not., She and Bright have done several question and answer sessions in the US after the film has been screened at various festivals. I wasno, as soon as he didnt come out, I. But lets go back to the moment. Get Democracy Now! GAVIN HOOD: This amazing lawyer, with great dignityElizabeth Wilmshurst, whos in the movie, Ralph Fiennes playing Ben Emmersonhas the cup of tea with her. GAVIN HOOD: Almost a million. Does he try to treat it? Gun is a singular presence, and she answers with characteristic care, speaking slightly haltingly, weighing her words. Yes, in 2003, Gun was working for British intelligencethat's . Shes beginning to understand the issues, but she hasnt seen it yet, Gun said in 2019 when her daughter was 11-years-old. Our Daily Digest brings Democracy Now! How many times has she seen the film now? Gun had, of course, been forced to abandon her career in the civil service and finally, struggling for work, left Britain altogether. She said, you know, its ironic that here we are in the age when women now have the vote, and theyre supposed to beand were all supposed to be equal, and yet so many roles are still about women being the sidekick, women being raped, so much violence, use ityou know, a woman whos in jeopardy. The law requires you to. By Ben Davies BBC News Online political staff at the TUC in Brighton There is something about Katharine Gun that makes her seem an unlikely candidate for whistleblowing. And, you know, he had nothing on him. Katharine Gun's case can also be very relevant for Julian Assange's defense: "Within half an hour, the case was dropped because the prosecution declined to offer evidence. [16], Her husband, Yaar Gn,[17][18] is a Turkish Kurd. I dont have to be in makeup or wardrobe for hours. And she just said what she loved about Katharine isand I hope this isnt said the wrong way, and I keep saying itshes one of us. You dont do you? I mean, we certainly did meet in the courthouse. Her life story is depicted in the new film Official Secrets. In Part 2 of our discussion, we speak with Katharine Gun; the British journalists who reported on Guns revelations in The Observer newspaper, Martin Bright and Ed Vulliamy; and Gavin Hood, director of Official Secrets.. Her act of whistleblowing cost her a career as a translator at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), made her stand in a highly publicized trial for violating the Official Secrets Act, and reduced her chances of getting another job due to being an internationally recognized whistleblower. You come home. We will never know. So, you know, it doesnt end, as Martin said. AMY GOODMAN: Were you actually in the car with him, waiting for him to go in for his check-in? The biggest story was: Who cares why were in the war? And so, we went down together to internal security, and they called Scotland Yard. Gun has spoken at the 51Fest and conferences arranged by organizations such as the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). GAVIN HOOD: Thats exactly right. And that was it. I mean, thats why MartinI remember Martin and Ed. At the time, as I well remember, the paper was split in response to the talk of war. Theyre watching, you know, video games and bombs landing on Baghdadshock and awe. I mean, I dont think we imagined that we would be still friends and still talking about it 14, 15 years later. As Coordinator for Shalom Mission Communities, a peace church fellowship near the southern border, Joel, his wife, Anali, and their new baby girl, Daniela Bea, are actively helping . Why did you choose to do this film? Now, the defense of necessity is usually used in very more simple circumstances. And Jed called me up and said, Have you heard of Katharine Gun? And you get this moment where you feel like you should have, because of the way hes saying it. He succumbed to his wounds and Knight dragged his body downstairs, skinned him, and hung his body from a meat hook in the living room. And then I went on to interview Martin and Ed and then Ben Emmerson, the lawyer. And she hadnt said why she had resigned. AMY GOODMAN: Works for the attorney general. So, they immediatelywell, first of all, my manager said, What would you like to do? And I said, Well, pfff, what can I do? You know, we have to tell internal security. is katharine gun still married to yasar. . And all of a sudden the news media is not interested in how we got into the war. She grew up in Taiwan, where her father had gone to teach, and her accent is hard to place. ED VULLIAMY: Thank you. Counted amongst the likes of Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and John Kiriakou is Katharine Gun, a whistleblower whose actions revealed the shocking underbelly of international politics and also inspired a big-budget movie that introduced many to the issue. It was a very big audience, lovely, lovely theater. If the war was illegal and she broke the law in order to expose an illegal war and potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives, I can use this defense of necessitythats usually used in more mundane, dare I say, contextsin this great political trial., And so he says, All right, now I need to know whether the war was legal or illegal. And he says, I need to find out what Lord Goldsmiths, the attorney-generals, legal position was in the run-up to that war. Keira Knightley: Iraq was the first time Id been politically engaged, Leaking or briefing? We have sort of, you know, I want to take my country back from all those Portuguese nurses and Polish plumbers, that we really must get rid of, and sort of whats best for Britain. You know, we dont have an opposition in our country, whereas you do in yours, thank god. And they failed, in part, I believe, because Katharine Gun leaked that memo. GAVIN HOOD: She did work for the attorney general, right up until a matter of weeks or so before the war, at which point, when he changed his mind, under massive pressure, having visited Washington and spoken to Gonzales and all the various lawyers who worked for Rumsfeld and Bush and Cheney, and theyd sold him on this idea of using Resolution 678, which authorized the 1991 Gulf War, and said, Really, that war didnt end, and were really still at war with Iraq. Gun, too, had expressed relief that the events are now part of a broader discussion due to the film and that she can finally talk about it without stress. And now you go back into work. But, you know, it. In the film, Official Secrets, she is played by Keira Knightley. KATHARINE GUN: And yeah, becauseanyway, he was going in every week to basically prove that he was still resident or that they could pinpoint where he was. I work for the British people. Who is her husband? Its so great to have you all with us. Mary Katherine Higdon of Griffin, Georgia, was arrested for the murder of her live-in boyfriend, Steven Freeman. You were just waiting. Shes out. Gun had, of course, been forced to abandon her career in the civil service and finally, struggling for work, left Britain altogether. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, I mean, around that time. And the memo was like this big red flag as soon as I saw it.. March 29, 2023 Posted by is vimto squash good for you; And at the end of the Q&A, I went to try and find him, and hed gone. I was very concerned about joining any kind of organisation like Stop the War, and being used as a focal point or something. He was going in every week to basically prove that he was still resident or that they could pinpoint where he was. However, during one such trip, her husband was detained by the authorities. AMY GOODMAN: You only lasted what? MARTIN BRIGHT: No, it was the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Lets find out! And then, on Tuesday, they called me in, and I went in. And nor do newspaper stories. And he didnt come back out again. And so, we talked about motherhood and all sorts of things, but I was just so impressed with how intelligent she was and how incisive she was in getting to the crux of the matter. I thought you said youre sick. And I said, I need to talk to you. And so we went into a small room, and I just said, I did it. And then she put her arm around me and went, Oh, Katharine. And then I burst out crying. But, you know, these things happen. Katharine Gun (ne Harwood), 47, is married to Yasar Gn, a Turkish Kurd, with whom she has a 13-year old daughter. They called for your documents. Although Katharine Gun returned to the public eye in 2019 for the promotional press events for Official Secrets, she has largely retreated from the medias gaze since. Shes just wearing her jeans and jumpers, you know, to work. The side of that history that Gun didnt really know in its fullest detail until she worked on the film was the drama of how the story made it into the pages of the Observer. I didnt want to be that. 4 4.Katharine Gun: Ten years on what happened to the woman who 5 5.Iraq War Whistle Blower Katharine Gun Shares Her Story | Video - PBS; 6 6.GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun speaks out | Daily Mail Online; 7 7.15 Years Later: How U.K. Whistleblower Katharine Gun - YouTube; 8 8.Katharine Gun & Martin Bright Interview - Official . "We still do not know all that happened - what GCHQ did, and why things happened," he said. AMY GOODMAN: So, theyre processing him. Almost a million Iraqis. Given my experience I would want to hear what happened from the horses mouth, I think.. ED VULLIAMY: At the time, yes, the editor and the political. AMY GOODMAN: Martin, you went on to work with Tony Blair, didnt you? . Gun is on Mondays episode of the Guardian podcast Today in Focus, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. These were the six "swing nations" on the UN Security Council that could determine whether the UN approved the invasion of Iraq. At first they dont name you, but then they do. And through the lights, I couldnt quite see who the guy was. MARTIN BRIGHT: I mean, there are a series of questions of accountability here. That is a tricky question, she says. Megan (Knightley) is having a quarter-life crisis after her boyfriend proposes, so she escapes for a week to her new friend, a 16-year-old named Annika's ( Chlo Grace Moretz) house . Before I was charged, before my name came out, my biggest worry was that I would become a known person. [9] Gun spent a night in police custody, and eight months later was charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act. All rights reserved. A very good book by Britains most decorated journalist, called Nick Davies, called Flat Earth Newsits about the British press, but it applies everywhererealized that actually the then-editors of our paper were effectively accountable to the Tony Blair enforcement machine. And my husband was desperately worried about what was going on. Frequent Fox News guest and conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham announced the death of her husband, Jake Brewer, on Sunday morning in a heartfelt Instagram post . Was she immediately frightened of the consequences? But it was, yeah, a moment of great humility, actually. I hadnt realised the extent to which Martin in particular had gone out on a limb for this at the paper. But to discover that it was such a young and such a junior employee was extraordinary to us, yeah. I mention those lines about working for the people rather than the government. AMY GOODMAN: Were going to leave it there, and I want to thank you all so much for being with us, Katharine Gun, the whistleblower; Observer journalists at the time, Martin Bright and Ed Vulliamy; and Gavin Hood, who is the director of Official Secrets, the story of Katharine Gun revealing the lies that led to the Iraq War on both sides of the ocean, in Britain and the United States, and led to so many deaths. I ask her first if it is gratifying to finally have it out there? Right? And so he went to Elizabeth and had a cup of tea, as you do in England. This is Democracy Now! Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. You know, the conservative estimates are 125,000 up to a million. And Mr. Ahmed is now the editorial director of the BBC, the revered BBC. As Katharine Gun told me during our "Salon Talks" conversation, being played by Keira Knightley in a movie was approximately the last thing she ever thought might happen to her. KATHARINE GUN: I was waiting outside in the police station, yes. [25][26] Together with journalist Peter Beaumont, Gun advised and consulted over the years it took to make the film and they are "very happy with the result.[20]. Young, in love, with a beautiful toddler and a baby on the way, Mary Katharine expected her husband of four years, Jake Brewer, to return from cycling in a charity event. In April 2020, Gun was set to appear as a speaker at the 14th edition of the International Journalism Festival, but the event was canceled in February of the same year due to COVID-19. Im Amy Goodman. [11], The case came to court on 25 February 2004. After they charged me, thats when they tried to deport my husband. And he says, I need toso, Im interviewing Ben in a pizza shop, right? I had had my own story on the fabrication of the weapons of mass destruction, the existence of a shadow intelligence-cooking agency within the Pentagon, which we at The Observer had for five months before Sy Hersh, with great respect to Sy, published it in The New Yorker. And they attempt to deport your husband, who is a? And the potential chink in the Official Secrets Act we had found, which could have become a defence for others, the defence of necessity [of speaking up to save imminent danger to life], it wasnt tested in court.. It was like watching a case that was very similar to my own. Maybe there will be sympathy.. And we worked five, six hours every day. Timpf, 32, and Friscia, 34, tied the knot . And if you are working in government, make sure that you are really clued up about what is going on, and think very hard where your responsibility lies.. Something like. You want to know where he is?. How did she go about rebuilding her life? whistleblower and former specialist for Britains Government Communications Headquarters. He knows he cant save the child. I watched you last night at one of the premieres of the film, a kind of secret showing of Official Secrets. [14] On the day of the court hearing, Gun said, "I'm just baffled in the 21st century we as human beings are still dropping bombs on each other as a means to resolve issues. MARTIN BRIGHT: Yeah, I mean, the story doesnt end. And so, a lot, a lot later. GAVIN HOOD: They failed. The comedown after they dropped the case, and trying to recover from that, was quite stressful.. No one else including myself has ever done what Gun did: tell secret truths at personal risk, before an imminent war, in time, possibly, to avert it.. You know, we had it in October 2002. This is a rush transcript. I felt awful after I denied it. You know, banks of civil servants couldnt do that. There are plenty of opportunities here for other journalists to take up the baton and find out what really happened. ", "US plan to bug Security Council: the text", "Let's free the Official Secrets Act from its cold war freeze | Alex Bailin", "Leaking or briefing? In a way, President Trump has been a gift for the previous president, George W. Bush, because it has really rehabilitated his reputation. And she said, I have to go, mostlyto find strong female characters, I have to go back 100 and 200 years and wear a corset to play a strong female character. And she said, This isI want to do this, because its a strong female character not in a corset. These folksbecause there are two legal ways you can go to war in international law. I was called up on Tuesday. We pay respect by giving voice to social justice, acknowledging our shared history and valuing the cultures of First Nations. Im going, No, II dont. He said, Just google Katharine Gun and official secrets. So I googled official secrets Katharine Gun, becausethe title of our film comes from the Official Secrets Act, which is what she breached when she leaked the memo. AMY GOODMAN: Shes then arrested. AMY GOODMAN: And these ambassadors are the ambassadors of? AMY GOODMAN: And a story that could have saved so many lives, except. ED VULLIAMY: Its a story of endeavor, to no avail. I would love to know. I think a lot of our current issues go back to that time. "[12] In May 2019 The Guardian stated the case was dropped "when the prosecution realised that evidence would emerge that even British government lawyers believed the invasion was unlawful. The author advocates anonymity. This is her story. You hardly told anybody what you had done. I havent watched the films about either of them, she says. But I felt this information was explosive, it needed to get out. The film captures well the inspired and stubborn efforts of Bright (Matt Smith in the movie), and colleagues Ed Vulliamy (played with brio by Rhys Ifans) and Peter Beaumont (played by Matthew Goode), to stand the story up, based on the few details it betrayed, and to get it into the paper, despite the strong misgivings of the political desk. The last few hectic days have left her relieved and happy, she says, but completely uncertain as to her future. Jed didnt sort of put the two of us together. Shes not wearing tons of makeup. "That story" concerns British whistleblower Katharine Gun, played by Keira Knightley in a film that premiered at Sundance festival in January.Fluent in Mandarin, the 28-year-old Gun was . That is a difficult question, she says. I mean, youre talking about the editorial leadership of The Observer, the editor-in-chief. AMY GOODMAN: the person in charge of news. And so, I immediately went home, and Iand at the time, actually, well, my dad was staying with me, because it was Chinese New Year, and he was back from Taiwan, and he was supporting me, so he was at home. It wasn't that she was naive . The war did not end when George W. Bush said, Mission accomplished. It was only just beginning. All I want to do is feel the emotions that this young woman felt, and dont want to be fussed over. And it was great. AMY GOODMAN: But once everyone did, you knew. And Mr.. We didnt talk about politics much. She was the real-life translator who photocopied . But a part of me thought: Damn we could have put the war on trial. Its the intelligence agency, like the NSA, the National Security Agency, in the U.S. She leaked a memo revealing that the United States was collaborating with Britain in collecting sensitive information on United Nations Security Council members, countries, in order to pressure the members, the ambassadors, into supporting the Iraq invasion of March 2003. Just trying to figure out what to do next. Much of the news desk was opposed. Within half an hour, the case was dropped because the prosecution declined to offer evidence. Certain friends did not want to see me any more, or be seen with me some people get very paranoid. GAVIN HOOD: Chile, Bulgaria, Angola, Cameroon, Pakistan, Mexico.

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