Who Is Katharine Gun? the True Story, Trial, and Life of the Gchq Whistleblower

Explore detailed explanations concerning Who Is Katharine Gun? the True Story, Trial, and Life of the Gchq Whistleblower.

The legal defense assembled by the civil rights charity Liberty transformed the case from a standard breach-of-contract hearing into an existential hazard for 10 Downing Street. Led by Ben Emmerson QC, Gun’s legal counsel pleaded not guilty under the defense of necessity. They argued that Gun acted to prevent imminent loss of life in an illegal war.

To substantiate that defense, Emmerson demanded full disclosure of the legal counsel provided to the British Cabinet by Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith. In the weeks prior to the invasion, Goldsmith’s legal assessment had shifted dramatically from warning that an invasion without a second UN resolution was unlawful to declaring the war legitimate under old resolutions dating back to 1990.

The British government faced a trap. If the trial proceeded, the Old Bailey judge would compel the prosecution to produce Goldsmith’s unredacted legal memos in open court. The public would see that the government’s own top lawyer had initially judged the war illegal. Rather than expose those files, the Crown Prosecution Service announced it would offer no evidence. The judge directed an immediate verdict of not guilty. Gun walked out of the courtroom entirely free in under half an hour.