“The Press Went Absolutely Mad”: The 1960s Sex Scandal That Rocked British Politics
The Profumo affair led to a government minister’s resignation on 5 June 1963. In 1983, Christine Keeler talked to the BBC about her part in a story of sex, lies and Cold War paranoia.
“For 20 years, I think I’ve just been a newspaper clipping, I’ve never really had my say,” Christine Keeler told the BBC’s Sue Lawley on Nationwide in 1983. She was recalling the notorious political scandal that had engulfed her life and made her a household name: the Profumo Affair.
The 21-year-old model found herself thrust into the media spotlight when, on 5 June 1963, John “Jack” Profumo resigned as UK Secretary of State for War after admitting that he had lied to Parliament about having an affair with her. The press alleged that during their dalliance two years earlier, Keeler was also seeing a Soviet naval attaché, Yevgeny Ivanov, who was believed to be a spy.
The 1960s were a time of immense cultural change in Britain—music, fashion, and social values were shifting rapidly. But beneath the surface of this modernizing society lay a political class still deeply rooted in traditional values. That fragile balance came crashing down with one of the most sensational scandals in British history: the Profumo Affair.
A Dangerous Liaison at the Heart of Power
At the center of the scandal was John Profumo, Britain’s Secretary of State for War, and Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old model with connections to both the British elite and Soviet diplomats. Their affair might have remained a private matter—except Keeler was also involved with Yevgeny Ivanov, a naval attaché at the Soviet embassy in London.
In the middle of the Cold War, this wasn’t just tabloid fodder—it was a potential national security nightmare.
“The Press Went Absolutely Mad”
Once whispers of the affair reached the media, the British press exploded with coverage. Newspapers were filled with lurid headlines, shocking photographs, and dramatic accounts of parties, affairs, and espionage. The scandal gripped the public’s attention like nothing before. The media frenzy didn’t just report the story—it became the story.
Political Fallout
Initially, Profumo denied the affair in the House of Commons. But when the truth emerged weeks later, he was forced to resign in disgrace. His fall from power marked one of the most humiliating political downfalls in British history.
The scandal also severely damaged the Conservative government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, undermining public trust and accelerating his resignation later that year. Many historians consider the Profumo Affair a turning point in modern British politics—a moment when deference to authority began to erode, and political leaders were no longer untouchable.
More Than a Sex Scandal
The Profumo Affair was not just about sex—it was about secrecy, power, and public accountability. It exposed how easily political privilege could be misused and how deeply personal behavior could influence national affairs. Most importantly, it signaled a new era where the media held real power—and where no one, not even the highest ministers of state, could hide from public scrutiny.
Christine Keeler and the Escalation of the Scandal
The flames of the Profumo Affair were fanned even further when Christine Keeler became entangled in another legal drama. This time, it involved Lucky Gordon, a jazz singer who was charged with assaulting her. Keeler’s court appearance provided fresh fuel for the media, who were already obsessed with her links to John Profumo.
As her close friend Mandy Rice-Davies later recalled:
“Of course, the press went absolutely mad. The situation was so overwhelming for John Profumo that he had to stand up in the House of Commons and deny that he had ever met Christine on any occasion, apart from a social one where his wife was present — except of course the press came to me for confirmation that she had been having this fling with Profumo.”
Under mounting pressure, Profumo continued to deny the affair for weeks. But eventually, the truth could no longer be contained. Ten weeks after his initial denial, Profumo admitted he had lied to Parliament and tendered his resignation — a move that shook the foundations of British political life.
The Scandal Deepens: Stephen Ward on Trial
Yet, the saga didn’t end with Profumo’s resignation. Just days later, police arrested Stephen Ward, the society osteopath who had introduced Keeler to Profumo. Ward was charged with procuring women for prostitution and living off immoral earnings — a scandalous claim that added yet another layer of sensationalism to the story.
During the trial, prosecutors painted Keeler and Rice-Davies as prostitutes, and Ward as their pimp. The so-called evidence? That the women had occasionally received gifts from the men they were involved with — and that they had contributed small amounts of cash to Ward for food and electricity while staying at his London flat.
The trial was widely seen as a political scapegoating of Ward, a man who knew too much and was too closely tied to powerful figures. The public spectacle continued to grip the nation, as the boundaries between politics, sex, and justice blurred dramatically.
