Officer 'leaked email to save lives'

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Press Association
Thursday November 27, 2003 11:48 AM


A British intelligence officer charged with leaking a top-secret memo to the press has appeared in court.Katharine Gun, 29, is charged under Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act.Mrs Gun, from Moor End Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire worked for the Government communications headquarters GCHQ as a translator at the security services main monitoring centre in Cheltenham.It is claimed she leaked an email from American spies asking British counterparts to tap telephones.Mrs Gun appeared in the dock at Bow Street Magistrates Court, central London only to confirm her name and address.

Ben Emmerson QC, representing Mrs Gun, said: "We will be entering a not guilty plea. I shall make it clear that she does not dispute she is responsible for leaking an email, the subject of this charge."Her defence will be her actions were justified by a defence of necessity. The disclosure made by her was a sincere attempt to prevent what she believed to be an unlawful war and saved the lives of British servicemen and women and Iraqi citizens."

Edward Brown, prosecuting, said the case raised some potentially very complex issues and legal questions. The court heard that there were issues over what instructions the defendant can give to her defence solicitors.Mrs Gun was sacked from GCHQ in June. She was charged on November 13.Senior district judge Timothy Workman granted unconditional bail to Mrs Gun until January 19 for a further appearance at Bow Street before the matter is transferred to Crown Court.

© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2003, All Rights Reserved.

From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,1271,-3436640,00.html

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1. Addendum: from the BBC:

Ex-GCHQ officer 'preventing war'

A British intelligence officer charged with leaking a top secret e-mail says she was trying to prevent an "unlawful war" in Iraq.
Katharine Gun, who worked at the government communications headquarters (GCHQ), appeared in court on Thursday charged under the Official Secrets Act. The former translator claims she leaked an e-mail from US spies asking British counterparts to tap telephones. Outside court Mrs Gun she was acting to prevent the "illegal war" in Iraq. Mrs Gun was sacked from GCHQ in June and charged on 13 November. She appeared in the dock at Bow Street Magistrates Court, central London for only a few minutes to confirm her name and address.

She was supported at the court by representatives from Liberty and David Shayler, the former MI5 officer jailed last November for revealing state secrets. After the brief appearance, Mrs Gun made a statement read out by James Welch, a solicitor for Liberty. She said: "I have today indicated to the court that I intend to plead not guilty to the charge that I face under the Official Secrets Act. I will defend the charge against me on the basis that my actions were necessary to prevent an illegal war in which thousands of Iraqi civilians and British soldiers would be killed or maimed."

The "leaked" 31 January memo reportedly said the National Security Agency had begun a "surge" in eavesdropping on UN Security Council countries about to vote on action in Iraq. Ex-MI5 officer David Shayler showed his support for Mrs Gun at the court
Officials from Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Bulgaria, Guinea and Pakistan all had their phones tapped in what the newspaper described as a "dirty tricks" operation. The author of the memo was supposedly Frank Koza, Defence Chief of Staff (Regional Targets) at the agency.

Under Section 1, of the 1989 Officials Secret Act it is an offence to disclose security and intelligence information without the correct authorisation. She is alleged to have leaked it to The Observer newspaper which ran an article in March claiming GCHQ had been asked to help spy on the six countries, which were all key to the passing of a second UN resolution on Iraq. Ms Gun has justified the disclosures saying in a statement that she had "only ever followed her conscience. No-one has suggested (nor could they), that any payment was sought or given for any alleged disclosures," she said in the statement released through her lawyers. "I have been heartened by the many messages of support and encouragement that I have received from Britain and around the world." Senior district judge Timothy Workman granted unconditional bail to Mrs Gun until 19 January for a further appearance at Bow Street before the matter is transferred to Crown Court.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3243266.stm