Bassano Ltd, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Quite possibly one of the most damaging events in the history of the Tory Party. Everything was going wrong for them, they seemed like a bunch of incompetents. From the great train robbery, spies in Whitehall to the Minister of Defence cavorting with a tart who was having a simultaneous fling with a Soviet military attache. It was grist to the mill of the emerging class of piss takers who were springing up on TV as well as a bitter Labour Party, furious that they had been rejected in 1951.
John Profumo was the member for Stratford-on-Avon from 1950 to 1963. In 1961 he met Christine Keeler at Cliveden the home of Lord Astor. She was working as a dancer at Murray’s Cabaret Club and ended up living with an osteopath, Stephen Ward. It was Ward who introduced Christine to the Minister of Defence and they had a relatively brief fling together. Another of Ward’s friends was the Soviet Naval attache and GRU spy Yevgeny Ivanov and he also had a fling with Christine.
The crux of the matter was a lot of ifs, buts and maybes. Maybe Profumo shared secrets with her which maybe she passed on to Ivanov. There was no proof either way but Profumo denied in the House of Shame that he had anything to do with Keeler and when later confronted with the truth he had to resign.
Stephen Ward was convicted of living off immoral earnings though there were suspicions he was involved in spying for the Russians.
The background to the story was wide and varied involving many big names. The News of the Screws even hinted that Prince Philip had attended parties at Cliveden with an accompanying picture of him clad in only a towel but that was only in one edition, no doubt the story was stamped on from on high. The DoE was a notorious swordsman so it was highly probable that he was involved.
The highlight of Ward’s trial was evidence given by Keeler’s fellow dancer Mandy Rice-Davies. Mandy had at one time been slum landlord Peter Rachman’s mistress. Ward’s defence counsel said that the Lord Astor denied having an affair or even of knowing her, Mandy’s reply was the immortal “Well, he would wouldn’t he”.
Christine Keeler was overcome by all the publicity and retired to a quiet life, Mandy made the most of it and had a long career having married an Israeli and moved to Tel Aviv.
Stephen Ward either took or was given an overdose and died after being found guilty of living off immoral earnings but before being sentenced. He was the only person who was prosecuted and all they could get him on was living off immoral earnings.
Profumo himself resigned an an MP and devoted himself to working for charity at Toynbee Hall, named after an ancestor of Polly Twaddle. In 1975 John was appointed a CBE for services to charity. He died in 2006 art the ripe old age of 91. I still feel the left of the day were out to get him and he lived in a time where MPs and especially ministers resigned rather than brazen it out.
My humble opinion is that it was the left ganging up against the right. The satirists had a field day; most of them were Oxbridge graduates and we now know what that means. The spying part is full of ifs buts maybes and could have beens.
© well_chuffed 2026
