Keeler pardon hope
Profumo girl case is reviewed
THE family of Christine Keeler – shamed by the Profumo spy affair – are a step closer to clearing her name.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has said it will look at her perjury conviction. If successful, it then goes to the Court of Appeal.
Christine’s son Seymour Platt, 49, is also pushing for a royal pardon. The business
analyst, from Longford,
Ireland, said: “Mum was a victim of abuse and the legal system. I want to restore her to the innocent woman she always was.”
Christine, then 19, had a fling in 1961 with married Secretary of State for War John Profumo – while also seeing a Russian spy.
It caused uproar and Profumo quit. Christine was later attacked by singer Lucky Gordon in front of a woman and two men. He was convicted but Christine lied in court about the men being there after they allegedly put pressure on her.
When Gordon launched a successful appeal and the men admitted they had been present, Christine admitted perjury and was jailed for nine months.
PM Harold Wilson branded her a harlot and she was publicly labelled a prostitute and a slut.
Christine died in 2017, urging Seymour in her will to clear her name. He said: “Mum was an example of the MeToo campaign way before many of these women were born.”
Prof Felicity Gerry QC, heading the legal team, said: “She should never have been prosecuted. Christine was simply the poster girl for slut-shaming.”