As the globe celebrates International Women’s Day, a leading barrister has made a fresh appeal for the reputation of Christine Keeler, the model entwined in Britain’s most infamous sex scandal, to be redeemed. Felicity Gerry KC has been advocating for five years to clear Ms. Keeler’s name and discussed with The Independent how the young model, primarily recognized for her fleeting affair with former war secretary John Profumo, may finally see her name rehabilitated. The Profumo affair, frequently labeled as Britain's first contemporary political sex scandal, led to the 1963 resignation of then-war secretary John Profumo after he misled parliament about his involvement with Ms. Keeler. The model later faced legal issues over unrelated accusations. “She was merely 19 when all of this unfolded, and she had to cope with it for the entirety of her life with people spreading and reporting whatever they wished about her, most of which was untrue,” Dr. Gerry stated. Christine Keeler was the woman embroiled in the Profumo affair (PA) Dr. Gerry is representing Ms. Keeler’s son, Seymour Platt, on a voluntary basis, who made a deathbed vow to his mother in 2017 to have her innocence recognized. The duo has submitted a petition for mercy, which could pave the way for a complete pardon for her supposed offenses if it succeeds. The matter was forwarded to the Criminal Case Review Commission by the previous Tory government but has not advanced. Ms. Keeler’s legal woes started when a former partner, a Jamaican jazz vocalist named Lucky Gordon, assaulted her in the street. During his trial, he was permitted to defend himself and interrogate her while on the stand. Dr. Gerry noted that victims now receive protection from their alleged assailants questioning them in court. “He was incredibly hostile in his cross-examination of her,” she remarked. Gordon contested his conviction after Keeler disclosed that she hadn’t mentioned the names of two men present during the assault, resulting in Gordon’s exoneration and Keeler being accused of perjury. Dr. Gerry explained that by the time Ms. Keeler’s trial was held in December 1963, “she had lost the desire to fight and admitted guilt [to perjury] out of fatigue.” She asserted that neither Lucky Gordon’s appeal nor Keeler’s trial would be accepted today under modern standards regarding abuse. “It is astonishing that the man who attacked her should escape unpunished while she ends up in prison,” she remarked. Around the same era, Stephen Ward, an osteopath who introduced Ms. Keeler to Mr. Profumo, was prosecuted on multiple counts of profiting from prostitution and soliciting immoral earnings. The claims served as the foundation for misleading accusations made about Ms. Keeler, who was compelled to testify during the trial, being labeled as a prostitute. Before the trial concluded, Ward was discovered dead in his apartment from an overdose. However, Dr. Gerry, an esteemed international attorney, characterized Ms. Keeler’s 1963 convictions as “typical victim-blaming” within a misogynistic legal framework, with an establishment that was “undoubtedly” seeking revenge for the Profumo scandal that effectively led to Harold Macmillan’s government downfall. “What many don’t realize is that Christine was not convicted because of the Profumo affair. She was falsely branded as a prostitute, people spat at her in public. She was just 19 at that time and had to endure that for the rest of her existence,” she remarked. Dr. Gerry contrasted this situation with Profumo, who had an affair with Keeler and resigned in disgrace for deceiving parliament about it. “He has been rehabilitated. He landed a prestigious position, as these men often do, at a charity, doing significant work for that organization, because that’s the hallmark of the elite—they possess enough wealth to engage in charitable work. “She couldn’t secure a job, or if she did, discovering her identity would lead to her losing it.” Currently, Dr. Gerry is optimistic that with a female lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, and the first-ever female lord chief justice, Dame Sue Carr, these women might bring justice to Ms. Keeler. “If a female chief justice were to deliver justice to Christine Keeler, it would be a remarkable achievement. And this lady chief justice possesses the courage to do so. We are hopeful that the Criminal Cases Review Commission will forward it to the Court of Appeal, allowing us to finally vindicate Christine’s name.
