Conviction of woman involved in British political scandal still under review

The criminal conviction of a woman involved in one of Britain’s biggest political scandals is still under review as a possible miscarriage of justice – as a new exhibition re-evaluates how she is portrayed.

Christine Keeler’s conviction for perjury is being examined by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) more than 60 years after her involvement in the Profumo affair.

Ms Keeler, who died aged 75 in 2017, was 19 when she had a sexual relationship with secretary of state of war John Profumo and a Soviet naval attache at the height of the Cold War.

She was labelled a “prostitute” and “call girl” by the press and politicians and a “harlot” by then-prime minister Harold Wilson.

Her son Seymour Platt submitted her case to the CCRC a year ago after three years of campaigning.

He says his mother was unfairly scapegoated in revenge for the incident, which began in 1961 and went on to grip the nation.

In 1963, she was jailed for nine months for lying about the presence of witnesses of an assault at the hands of an abusive partner, despite him admitting the offence in court, becoming the only person connected to the scandal to be jailed.

A CCRC spokesman said: “The CCRC has received an application from Mr Platt for a review of his mother’s conviction.

“The case is currently under review. No final decision has yet been reached on the application and no date has been set for any decision to be issued.”

It comes as Mr Platt attended a new exhibition marking the 60-year anniversary of the scandal, named Scandal ’63 Revisited, which opened on Friday at the Leicester Gallery at De Montfort University (DMU).

The 51-year-old, who now lives in Longford in the Republic of Ireland, said his mother’s conviction was “wrong” and meant her version of events in the earlier scandal was unfairly dismissed.

He said: “My mother was vilified and, as she said in her own words, she felt like she took on the sins of a generation, which was a very, very hard burden.

“She has been called every name you can ever imagine, hated for being young and living her life.

“She was found guilty of perjury for being a victim of a crime. She really did suffer – she was just a young girl and never told a single lie in malice.

“She has been unfairly treated, in my opinion.

“The more evidence that comes out, the more it confirms everything that she says.

“Because she has been convicted for perjury, people dismiss her version of history, but it stands up to every piece of evidence that comes forward.”

Mr Platt said that if the CCRC believes a review is necessary and the case goes to the Court of Appeal, his mother and her story “can’t be dismissed.”

Ms Keeler’s involvement in the scandal started in 1959 when she met osteopath and socialite Stephen Ward while working as a showgirl at Murray’s Cabaret Club in Soho.

Mr Ward introduced her to Mr Profumo and Eugene Ivanov, a naval attache at the Soviet embassy, in 1961, and Ms Keeler had sexual relations with both.

Ms Keeler’s family say Mr Ward – who had an MI5 handler – asked her to find out national security information through her affairs.

The affair with Mr Profumo, which lasted a few months, went unnoticed until political figures became aware of her relationship over a year later.

Under mounting pressure, he told Parliament “there was no impropriety whatsoever” with Ms Keeler, but later admitted lying and resigned in June 1963.

The family say Ms Keeler and Mr Ward were then scapegoated by the political elite due to the national security risk the affair posed.

Mr Ward killed himself during a trial for living off the immoral earnings of prostitutes, including Ms Keeler, in 1963, with the CCRC saying in 2017 there was “considerable force” behind the argument that the conviction was unsafe.

The scandal contributed to the defeat of Harold MacMillan’s Conservative government in the 1964 election and has inspired multiple films and TV shows.

The new exhibition, which runs until April 15, includes new clothes, documents and artwork, including showgirl outfits worn by Ms Keeler and letters sent while she was in prison.

Steve Chibnall, professor of British cinema at DMU and co-curator of the exhibition, said: “For decades, cultural productions, such as film, TV and even stage musicals, have tended to expose the injustice done by a repressive power elite to the man at the centre of events, the artist and osteopath Stephen Ward, celebrating him as a champion of sexual freedom.

“With the impact of the #MeToo and the Time’s Up movements, the emphasis has shifted to the need to acknowledge the honesty of his mentee and muse Christine Keeler.”