Writer tells of life as storm raged over disgraced MP

years before the little boy knew what had really happened.

His father, the then minister for war, was having an affair with topless dancer Christine, who was also sleeping with a Soviet naval attaché Yevgeny Ivanov at the height of the Cold War.

A shooting incident between two of her other lovers caused a press investigation, revealing her affairs could be a threat to national security.

In the Commons, Profumo denied any improper conduct with Keeler but finally admitted he had lied to the House and resigned.

Describing how his mother Valerie told him about his father’s resignation, David said: “She said, ‘Daddy’s decided to stop being a politician. He told a lie in the House of Commons, so now we’re going to have a little holiday in the country. All together. Now doesn’t that sound like fun?’

“They kept me from it but the continual flow of mail and special deliveries reminded them of unwelcome developments.

“This was an astonishingly lonely time for my parents and, despite their later display of solidarity in public, I know there was fierce emotional turbulence and not as much in the way of stoical acceptance as many have suggested.”

David said they eventually returned from their “holiday” to their London home “two broken people”.

He added: “They clung to each other like Hansel and Gretel.”

But while David was vaguely aware something wasn’t quite right, he had no idea about his father’s betrayal as the man once tipped to be the next Conservative prime minister reinvented himself as a charity worker. It wasn’t until five years