In 2003, whilst working as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Katharine Gun received an email which directed British intelligence to spy on foreign governments for American interests. Acting in accordance with her conscience, Katharine took a copy of the email, which was subsequently printed by The Observer, leading to her arrest.
The criminal justice system took over a year to bring Katharine to trial: an exhibition in lawfare. Katharine Gun’s breach of the Official Secrets Act exposed the scale of the corruptions involved in scheming a military operation in Iraq as well as laying bare the innate prejudice of the legislation itself.
The events of 2003, leading up to her trial in 2004, were portrayed in the 2019 film Official Secrets. Katharine Gun runs a channel on Telegram and she is involved with the development of the Institute for the Public Interest.