Keeler could be cleared 60 years after Profumo scandal

A top barrister has issued a new plea for the reputation of Christine Keeler, the model at the heart of Britain's most notorious sex scandal, to be cleared.

- DAVID MADDOX

Felicity Gerry KC has been fighting the case to clear Ms Keeler’s name for the past five years and spoke to The Independent about how the young model, best known for her brief relationship with former war secretary John Profumo, may finally have her reputation restored.

The Profumo scandal, often described as Britain’s first modern political sex scandal, saw the 1963 resignation of then secretary for war John Profumo after he lied to parliament about his affair with Ms Keeler. The model was later pursued in court on unrelated charges.

“She was only 19 when all this happened and she had to live with it for the rest of her life with people saying and reporting what they wanted about her, most of it not true,” Dr Gerry said.

Dr Gerry is acting pro bono on behalf of Ms Keeler’s son, Seymour Platt, who made a death-bed promise to his mother in 2017 to have her exonerated. The pair have issued a petition of mercy, which could provide a full pardon for her alleged crimes if successful.

The case was referred to the Criminal Case Review Commission by the last Tory government but has not progressed.