Editing John Profumo (section)

== The Profumo affair ==
{{Main|Profumo affair}}

In July 1961, at a party at [[Cliveden]], home of [[William Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor|Viscount Astor]], John Profumo met [[Christine Keeler]], a 19-year-old model with whom he began a sexual relationship. The exact length of the affair between Profumo and Keeler is disputed, ending either in August 1961 after Profumo was warned by the security services of the possible dangers of mixing with the [[Stephen Ward|Ward circle]], or continuing with decreasing fervour until December 1961. Since Keeler had also had sexual relations with [[Yevgeny Ivanov (spy)|Yevgeny Ivanov]], the senior naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy, the matter took on a national-security dimension.<ref name="Summers Dorril 1988 p. ">{{cite book | last1=Summers | first1=Anthony | last2=Dorril | first2=Stephen | title=Honeytrap | publisher=Coronet Books | publication-place=London | date=1988 | isbn=0-340-42973-9 | oclc=20827508 }}</ref>

In December 1962, a shooting incident in London involving two other men who were involved with Keeler led the press to investigate her, and reporters soon learned of her affairs with Profumo and Ivanov. But the British tradition of respecting the private lives of British politicians, for fear of libel actions, was maintained until March 1963, when the Labour MP [[George Wigg]], claiming to be motivated by the national-security aspects of the case, and taking advantage of [[Parliamentary privilege]], which gave him immunity from any possible legal action, referred in the House of Commons to the rumours linking Profumo with Keeler. Profumo then made a personal statement in which he admitted he knew Keeler but denied there was any "impropriety" in their relationship and threatened to sue if newspapers asserted otherwise.<ref>Colin Wilson, Damon Wilson, '' Scandal!: An Explosive Exposé of the Affairs, Corruption and Power Struggles of the Rich and Famous'', Virgin, 2003, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GM2_O5dJ6GUC&pg=PT113 p. 250] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424015439/https://books.google.com/books?id=GM2_O5dJ6GUC&pg=PT113 |date=24 April 2017 }}</ref>

Profumo's statement did not prevent newspapers publishing stories about Keeler, and it soon became apparent to Macmillan that Profumo's position was untenable. On 5 June 1963, Profumo was forced to admit that he had lied to the House in March when he denied an affair with Keeler, which at that time was an unforgivable offence in British politics. Profumo resigned from office and from the Privy Council, and applied for and was appointed to the role of [[steward of the Chiltern Hundreds]] to give up his Commons seat.<ref name="beeb">{{cite news|author=Staff reporter|title=Queen Accepts Aitken's Resignation|year=1997|publisher=BBC|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/politics97/news/06/0626/aitken.shtml|access-date=12 February 2008|quote=Two former disgraced ministers, John Profumo and John Stonehouse, have also resigned from the Council...|archive-date=24 November 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041124045548/http://www.bbc.co.uk/politics97/news/06/0626/aitken.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Before making his public confession, Profumo confessed the affair to his wife, who stood by him. It was never shown that his relationship with Keeler had led to any breach of national security.<ref name="lrb">{{cite news|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n20/ian-gilmour/dingy-quadrilaterals|title=Dingy Quadrilaterals|work=London Review of Books|date=19 October 2006|access-date=2 September 2011|archive-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004021428/https://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n20/ian-gilmour/dingy-quadrilaterals|url-status=live}}</ref> The scandal rocked the Conservative government, and was generally held to have been among the causes of its defeat by Labour at the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 election]]. Macmillan had already gone by then, having resigned in October 1963 on health grounds to be succeeded by [[Alec Douglas-Home]].<ref name="Butler Butler Butler 2000 p. ">{{cite book | last1=Butler | first1=David | last2=Butler | first2=Gareth | title=Twentieth-century British political facts, 1900–2000 | publisher=St. Martin's Press | publication-place=New York | date=2000 | isbn=0-312-22947-X | oclc=42952620 }}</ref>

Profumo maintained complete public silence about the matter for the rest of his life, even when the 1989 film ''[[Scandal (1989 film)|Scandal]]''—in which he was played by [[Ian McKellen]]—and the publication of Keeler's memoirs revived public interest in the affair.<ref name="lrb"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/sep/24/politicalbooks.politicsphilosophyandsociety|title=There were four of them in this marriage|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=15 January 2011|location=London|first=Tim|last=Adams|date=24 September 2006|archive-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913011911/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/sep/24/politicalbooks.politicsphilosophyandsociety|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1527833/Son-breaks-familys-40-year-silence-on-scandal-of-the-Profumo-Affair.html|title=Son breaks family's 40-year silence on scandal of the Profumo Affair|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2 September 2006|location=London|first=Elizabeth|last=Grice|access-date=1 April 2018|archive-date=8 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208134940/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1527833/Son-breaks-familys-40-year-silence-on-scandal-of-the-Profumo-Affair.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Profumo was portrayed by [[Daniel Flynn (actor)|Daniel Flynn]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.westendtheatre.com/21933/shows-archive/stephen-ward/|title=Stephen Ward by Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Aldwych Theatre &#124; WestEndTheatre.com|date=30 June 2013|website=westendtheatre.com|access-date=24 February 2021|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301095832/https://www.westendtheatre.com/21933/shows-archive/stephen-ward/|url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]'s stage musical ''[[Stephen Ward (musical)|Stephen Ward]]'', which opened at the [[Aldwych Theatre]] on 19 December 2013.

He was portrayed by [[Ben Miles]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bbc.com/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/christine-keeler-casting/|title=An all-star cast announced for The Trial of Christine Keeler|publisher=BBC|access-date=29 May 2021|archive-date=3 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603074614/https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/christine-keeler-casting/|url-status=live}}</ref> in the 2019/2020 BBC drama ''[[The Trial of Christine Keeler]]'' and by Tim Steed<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/0/crown-season-2-netflix-drama-deals-christine-keeler-profumo/|title=The Crown season 2: how the Netflix drama deals with Christine Keeler and the Profumo Affair|date=6 December 2017|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=24 February 2021|archive-date=7 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207010559/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/0/crown-season-2-netflix-drama-deals-christine-keeler-profumo/|url-status=live}}</ref> in the [[Netflix]] series ''[[The Crown (TV series)|The Crown]]'', where the Profumo Affair is part of the plot for season 2, episode 10 – "Mystery Man".