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Brit âwhistleblower to stand trial soon
EFL. She was an anonymous junior official toiling away with 4,500 other mathematicians, code-breakers and linguists at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham. But now Katharine Gun, an unassuming 29-year-old translator, is set to become a transatlantic cause célÚbre as the focus of a star-studded solidarity drive that brings together Hollywood actor-director Sean Penn and senior figures from the US media and civil rights movement, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Jeepers! Sean Penn AND Jesse Jackson? Whatâd the poor lass do to deserve such a cruel fate! Gun appears in court tomorrow accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act by allegedly leaking details of a secret US âdirty tricksâ operation to spy on UN Security Council members in the run-up to war in Iraq last year. If found guilty, she faces two years in prison. The leak has been described as Sounds like the usual leftie lawyers are in charge of her defense. At the time Gun, who was sacked after her arrest and whose case is funded by legal aid, said in a statement: âAny disclosures that may have been made were justified on the following grounds: because they exposed serious illegality and wrongdoing on the part of the US government who attempted to subvert our own security services; and to prevent wide-scale death and casualties among ordinary Iraqi people and UK forces in the course of an illegal war.â She added: âI have only ever followed my conscience.â Yeah, yeah, now on to the movie deal and the personal appearances, honey. The leaked memorandum - dated 31 January 2003 - from Frank Koza, chief of staff of the NSAâs Regional Targets section, requested British intelligence help to discover the voting intentions of the key âswing sixâ nations at the UN. Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, Chile, Mexico and Pakistan were under intense pressure to vote for a second resolution authorising war in Iraq. Ethel! Thereâs spying going on at the UN! Oh, the horrors! The disclosure of the âdirty tricksâ memo caused serious diplomatic difficulties for the countries involved and in particular the socialist government in Chile, which demanded an immediate explanation from Britain and America. In the days that followed the disclosure, the Chilean delegation in New York distanced itself from the draft second resolution, scuppering plans to go down the UN route. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you. A summary of the legal advice published on 17 March last year showed that Goldsmith believed that UN Resolution 678, which authorised force against Iraq to eject it from Kuwait in 1990, could be used to justify the conflict. This position has been fiercely criticised by most And he continued to be a threat. Next question? A key figure could prove to be 54-year-old Elizabeth Wilmshurst, deputy legal adviser to the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who stepped down on 21 March. Wilmshurst is said to have left her post because she would not agree to Goldmithâs legal advice. Since leaving her post she has not spoken about the crucial discussions in the Foreign Office last March. Many believe that a second whistleblower could prove fatal to the Government. Tonyâs being brought down by yapping poodles. Posted by: Steve White 2004-01-18 |
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