Also by Phillip Knightley THE SECOND OLDEST PROFESSION AN AFFAIR The Spy as Bureaucrat, Patriot, Fantasist and Whore THE FIRST CASUALTY From the Crimea to Vietnam, OF STATE the War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist and Myth-maker THE PROFUMO CASE THE VESTEY AFFAIR AND THE THE DEATH OF VENICE FRAMING- OF STEPHEN WARD (co-author) SUFFER THE CHILDREN The Story of Thalidomide (co-author) Phillip Knightley THE SECRET LIVES OF LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and (co-author) Caroline Kennedy PHILBY THE SPY WHO BETRAYED A GENERATION (co-author) JONATHAN CAPE THIRTY-TWO BEDFORD SQUARE LONDON CONTENTS For Elisar, Mayumi, Jasmine, Aliya, Marisa and Kim - Introduction and for Stephen Ward Acknowledgments Scandal in High Places 2 The Crusading Osteopath 3 Ward Cracks the Social Scene 4 A Magnet for Girls 5 A Rising Star in the Tory Party 33 6 The Waif and the Crooked Businessman 37 7 Delightful Days at Cliveden 46 8 The Promiscuous Showgirl 53 9 Living Together 58 to The Artist and the Royals 61 I Enter Ivanov, Soviet Spy 67 12 Mandy and Christine Run Riot 78 13 Astor's Summer Swimming Party 84 14 Playing International Politics 90 15 Wigg Seeks Revenge 93 16 The FBI and the London Call Girl 97 First published 1987 17 The New York Caper Too Copyright © 1987 by Phillip Knightley and Caroline Kennedy 18 Cooling the Cuban Missile Crisis 1os Jonathan Cape Ltd, 32 Bedford Square, London acts JEL 19 Problems with Profumo 113 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data 20 A Knife Fight in Soho 117 21 A Shooting in Marylebone 121 Knightley, Phillip An affair of state: the Profumo case and zz Ward Stops the Presses 129 the framing of Stephen Ward 23 The Police Show Interest 138 1. Profumo, John D. a. Ward, Stephen 3. Great Britain—Politics and government-194 24 The Scandal Begins to Break 144 I. Title H. Kennedy, Caroline 941.081'6'0924 DA591.P7 25 The Boil is Lanced 148 ISBN 0-274-02347-0 26 The Move to Silence Ward 161 27 168 Printed in Great Britain by Cooking a Case Mackays of Chatham Ltd 56 AN AFFAIR OF STATE THE BOIL IS LANCED 157 a close relationship — this denial of any impropriety seems Blackburn [Mrs Castle], opposite, spoke of the rumours connecting a suggested Minister with a Miss Keeler and a recent trial at the Central foolhardyBlyacr ae tn best.osn a Criminal Court. It was alleged that people in high places might convention personal statement to the House of Commons have been responsible for concealing information concerning the cannot be debated or challenged because the honour, truth and disappearance of a witness and the perversion of justice. integrity of the Member making the statement is accepted absolutely. I understand that my name has been connected with the rumours Yet what Profumo had to say reeked of omission, inconsistency and about the disappearance of Miss Keeler. I would like to take this unanswered questions. Why did his wife not accompany him on the opportunity of making a personal statement about these matters. I occasions he saw Christine Keeler at Ward's flat? Exactly how last saw Miss Keeler in December 1961, and I have not seen her friendly was he with Keeler? For example, did he ever see her alone? since. I have no idea where she is now. Any suggestion that I was in Take her out? Give her any gifts? Write her any letters? If the House any way connected with or responsible for her absence from the of Commons had known about the outings, the gifts, the letters and trial at the Old Bailey is wholly and completely untrue. My wife the use of the endearment, 'Darling', it is inconceivable that anyone and I first met Miss Keeler at a house party in July 1961 at who heard Profumo's denial of any impropriety in his relationship Cliveden. Among a number of people there was Dr Stephen Ward, with Christine Keeler would have believed him for an instant. whom we already knew slightly, and a Mr Ivanov, who was an But the convention was observed. The establishment backed its attaché at the Russian Embassy. The only other occasion that my beleaguered Member. The Prime Minister gave his support by sitting wife or I met Mr Ivanov was for a moment at the official reception alongside Profumo on the Government front bench, and when for Major Gagarin at the Soviet Embassy. My wife and I had a Profumo had finished speaking Macmillan clapped him on the standing invitation to visit Dr. Ward. Between July and December shoulder, a public gesture of warmth and confidence. Yet we have 1961 I met Miss Keeler on about half a dozen occasions when I discovered that Macmillan had every reason to believe that Profumo called to see him and his friends. Miss Keeler and I were on friendly was lying. terms. There was no impropriety whatsoever in my acquaintanceship One of Macmillan's closest American friends was the ambassador, with Miss Keeler. Mr Speaker, I have made this personal statement David Bruce, a great Anglophile, with whom he lunched regularly at because of what was said in the House last evening by the three Bucks Club. Macmillan had been hearing rumours about Profumo hon. Members, and which, of course, was protected by privilege. I and Keeler since November the previous year. He had begun to shall not hesitate to issue writs for libel and slander if scandalous suspect that his own advisers were not telling him the truth about the allegations are made or repeated outside the House. affair, either because they were involved in it themselves, or they were trying to cover up to avoid a scandal. So at one of his lunches With hindsight it is easy to see where the legal minds occupied in with Bruce, the Prime Minister asked the ambassador to make drafting the statement realised that their case was weak. The discreet inquiries to see what he could discover. disarming phrase 'my wife and I first met Miss Keeler at a house Bruce went to Thomas Corbally, the American businessman who party' — although strictly true, hardly accurately reflects the actual was a friend of Ward. Bruce knew of this friendship from his nephew, meeting. Again, 'My wife and I had a standing invitation to visit Dr Billy Mellon Hitchock, the cousin of Center Hitchcock, the Ward' suggested that if the Profumos visited Ward it would be as a American who had taken Mandy Rice-Davies to Paris three months couple. Yet in the very next sentence, Mrs Profumo has vanished, earlier. Corbally recalls, 'Ambassador Bruce asked me to find out and Profumo is going alone to Ward's flat where he meets Miss what was going on and to let him know as quickly as possible. I Keeler on about 'half a dozen occasions'. They are on 'friendly telephoned Ward from Bruce's office and arranged a lunch — Ward, terms'. But, and here there had to be a direct lie, otherwise the me, the ambassador's secretary Alfred Wells, and Billy Hitchcock. statement would have totally lacked conviction — 'There was no 'The lunch was held upstairs at Simpson's in Piccadilly in a booth impropriety whatsoever in my acquaintanceship with Miss Keeler.' where, we hoped, none of us would be recognised. There Ward told Since it was widely known at that time that Fleet Street had seen one Wells the fully story, including Christine's dealings with the of Profumo's letters to Christine Keeler — and had considered newspapers and the letter from Profumo she had kept which made publishing it; something a newspaper would not do unless it clear her relationship with him.' 158 AN AFFAIR OF STATE THE BOIL IS LANCED 1 59 She On 29 January, in Wells's office in the American Embassy in March. Mann quickly did a deal for her with the Daily Express. Grosvenor Square, Corbally filled in the details while Wells made a was to get £2,000 immediately, of which a quarter would go to Mann. note of them. The substance of this note is now in the FBI files in This was for a statement about Profumo, and photographs which Washington. The FBI got some of Corbally's details wrong — they showed her as a sex goddess. The statement was short and false: said, for instance that it was Profumo who had taken Christine Keeler 'What Mr Profumo said is quite correct. I have not been in his (and Mandy) to Astor's swimming party — but the thrust of their company since 196 The Express then flew her back to London. account was correct: Profumo had definitely had an affair with The following Sunday, in an interview with the News of the World, Christine; Ivanov may have done so. And the FBI version added Christine repeated her line on Profumo. 'Certainly both he and his some new information. They insisted that Macmillan- had been wife were friends of mine. But it was a friendship no one can informed of the scandal the day before by 'a British newspaper' and criticise.' Ward supported her. Interviewed on television he said, 'I that an official letter had been sent to this newspaper warning it of the was there when the meetings took place, and there is absolutely dangers of publishing anything until the trial of Johnny Edgecombe nothing of a sinister nature to these occasions.' In this welter of was over. denials, the one point Fleet Street failed to probe was: who was Wells passed his note to Bruce.