Profumo affair documents sealed by John Major could clear Christine Keeler name

24 November 2023 , 21:18

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Christine Keeler pictured leaving Marylebone Magistrates Court in 1963 (Image: PA)

Secret documents sealed by John Major for 75 years could hold clues to help clear Christine Keeler’s name.

The Criminal Case Review Commission, which is looking into the Profumo scandal icon’s 1963 conviction for perjury, has the remit to access the files. There have been repeated calls for transparency over the past 60 years but the dossier has been suppressed with suggestions that figures named in it are still alive.

Christine’s family are trying to clear her name after she was jailed for nine months for lying in court about an assault case. Her son Seymour Platt, 51, said yesterday: "I’m pleased with the progress the CCRC are making. I’m delighted that they may be looking at the sealed documents."

John Profumo, Secretary of State for War, leaving his home in Regent's Park, London, in 1963 (PA)

Aloysius Gordon, also known as Lucky Gordon (Mirrorpix)

As PM in 1993, Mr Major was given permission under the 30-year rule to read secret evidence gathered for Lord Denning’s 1963 probe into the Profumo affair. The report itself was published, but witness statements were considered to contain such embarrassing material that successive Lord Chancellors wanted them destroyed.

However, Mr Major chose not to but agreed the documents should be kept from the public eye until 2048. Former model Christine’s 1961 fling with War ­Secretary John Profumo helped topple the Tory ­Government. In April 1963, she was attacked by violent stalker Aloysius 'Lucky' Gordon.

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Christine Keeler died in 2017 but her son continues the fight to clear her name (PA)

He was convicted and jailed but ­successfully appealed after it was found ­Christine had told jurors two witnesses to the assault were not there. Her family claim she was ­prosecuted to discredit her over the Profumo scandal.

Christine died in 2017 aged 75. Dubai-based solicitor James Harbridge, who is leading the campaign to clear her, said: "The Profumo affair is in the fabric of English society. It’s remarkable that Christine was a victim of an assault but was prosecuted for perjury. Christine was 21 at the time. She didn’t have a support network to protect her.

British prime minister John Major sealed the files which could help clear Keeler's name (AFP via Getty Images)

"There was no one around her with her best interests at heart. People ask, ‘Why does it matter now that Christine has died?’ It matters because even after someone passes they still have a reputation and it needs to be historically correct. Christine’s reputation deserves fair treatment."

Dan Warburton