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Switch the Stories To Find the Truth — with Katharine Gun | UK Column Interviews
About this Episode
Switch the Stories To Find the Truth — with Katharine Gun | UK Column Interviews
► Subscribe to the UK Column YouTube channel ► https://bit.ly/ukcolumnofficial
As explained in the notes for UK Column’s January 2025 interview with Katharine, entitled ‘A Defence of Necessity: Breaking the Official Secrets Act’, whilst working as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in 2003, 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. These events, leading up to her trial in 2004, were portrayed in the 2019 film Official Secrets, which starred Keira Knightley as Katharine.
In this new interview, Professor Diane Rasmussen spoke with Katharine about her views on a range of topics beyond her 2003-2004 experience, including her new article, ‘Fabricating the Case for War in the 21st Century’, which appears in Issue 1 of UK Column’s magazine, The Column. This excellent article uncovers Katharine’s work on the patterns underlying official narratives, moving through time from 9/11 to the current situation in Iran, and the inversions behind the lies that have been used to support regime change in many countries over the past 25 years.
Katharine shared the infuriating story of what happened to her and her 17-year-old daughter at the end of a Jet2 flight from Türkiye to the UK earlier in 2026, and the outrageous accusations made against her.
Diane and Katharine discussed topics of cultural relevance that they have explored over long chats over coffee in the past several months, including the indoctrination of Western children through inappropriate sexual education, the profit motives behind the climate change scam, and more.
Despite the serious implications of these topics, Diane and Katharine’s discussion demonstrates that exploring ideas with like-minded individuals can lead to an uplifting shared experience in these dark times. All it takes is a cup of tea or coffee and some unrushed time.
Katharine runs a channel on Telegram, and she is involved with the development of the Institute for the Public Interest. Viewers are encouraged to watch her outstanding talk given at UK Column’s ‘On Location’ event in Cheltenham last year.
A Defence of Necessity: Breaking the Official Secrets Act: https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/a-defence-of-necessity-breaching-the-official-secrets-act-with-katharine-gunGCHQ: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/The Observer: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/02/usa.iraqOfficial Secrets: https://www.officialsecrets.movie/The Column: https://shop.ukcolumn.org/product/the-column-issue-1/Telegram: https://t.me/alwaysfollowyourconscienceInstitute for the Public Interest: https://publicinterestinstitute.org/Talk given at UK Column’s ‘On Location’ event in Cheltenham: https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/uk-column-on-location-in-cheltenham-katharine-gun
► Join UK Column Live every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1pm UK time or watch previous live recordings here: https://bit.ly/UKColumn_Live
Follow #UKColumn on:► X: https://x.com/ukcolumn► Telegram: https://t.me/ukcolumn► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UKColumnExtracts► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uk_column_news
► Subscribe to the UK Column YouTube channel ► https://bit.ly/ukcolumnofficial
As explained in the notes for UK Column’s January 2025 interview with Katharine, entitled ‘A Defence of Necessity: Breaking the Official Secrets Act’, whilst working as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in 2003, 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. These events, leading up to her trial in 2004, were portrayed in the 2019 film Official Secrets, which starred Keira Knightley as Katharine.
In this new interview, Professor Diane Rasmussen spoke with Katharine about her views on a range of topics beyond her 2003-2004 experience, including her new article, ‘Fabricating the Case for War in the 21st Century’, which appears in Issue 1 of UK Column’s magazine, The Column. This excellent article uncovers Katharine’s work on the patterns underlying official narratives, moving through time from 9/11 to the current situation in Iran, and the inversions behind the lies that have been used to support regime change in many countries over the past 25 years.
Katharine shared the infuriating story of what happened to her and her 17-year-old daughter at the end of a Jet2 flight from Türkiye to the UK earlier in 2026, and the outrageous accusations made against her.
Diane and Katharine discussed topics of cultural relevance that they have explored over long chats over coffee in the past several months, including the indoctrination of Western children through inappropriate sexual education, the profit motives behind the climate change scam, and more.
Despite the serious implications of these topics, Diane and Katharine’s discussion demonstrates that exploring ideas with like-minded individuals can lead to an uplifting shared experience in these dark times. All it takes is a cup of tea or coffee and some unrushed time.
Katharine runs a channel on Telegram, and she is involved with the development of the Institute for the Public Interest. Viewers are encouraged to watch her outstanding talk given at UK Column’s ‘On Location’ event in Cheltenham last year.
A Defence of Necessity: Breaking the Official Secrets Act: https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/a-defence-of-necessity-breaching-the-official-secrets-act-with-katharine-gunGCHQ: https://www.gchq.gov.uk/The Observer: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/02/usa.iraqOfficial Secrets: https://www.officialsecrets.movie/The Column: https://shop.ukcolumn.org/product/the-column-issue-1/Telegram: https://t.me/alwaysfollowyourconscienceInstitute for the Public Interest: https://publicinterestinstitute.org/Talk given at UK Column’s ‘On Location’ event in Cheltenham: https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/uk-column-on-location-in-cheltenham-katharine-gun
► Join UK Column Live every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1pm UK time or watch previous live recordings here: https://bit.ly/UKColumn_Live
Follow #UKColumn on:► X: https://x.com/ukcolumn► Telegram: https://t.me/ukcolumn► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UKColumnExtracts► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uk_column_news
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