Christine Keeler: The combat to clear the girl on the coronary heart of Britain’s most infamous intercourse scandal | EUROtoday

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As the world marks International Women’s Day, a high barrister has issued a brand new plea for the fame of Christine Keeler, the mannequin on the coronary heart of Britain’s most infamous intercourse scandal, to be cleared.

Felicity Gerry KC has been preventing the case to clear Ms Keeler’s identify for the previous 5 years and spoke to The Independent about how the younger mannequin greatest identified for her transient relationship with former battle secretary John Profumo could lastly have her fame restored.

The Profumo scandal, typically described as Britain’s first fashionable political intercourse scandal, noticed the 1963 resignation of then secretary for battle John Profumo after he lied to parliament about his affair with Ms Keeler. The mannequin was later pursued in courtroom on unrelated expenses.

“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 mentioned.

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Dr Gerry is appearing professional bono on behalf of Ms Keeler’s son, Seymour Platt, who made a death-bed promise to his mom in 2017 to have her exonerated. The pair have issued a petition of mercy, which might present a full pardon for her alleged crimes if profitable.

The case was referred to the Criminal Case Review Commission by the final Tory authorities however has not progressed.

Ms Keeler’s authorized troubles started when a former lover, a Jamaican jazz singer referred to as Lucky Gordon, attacked her on the street. At his trial he was allowed to defend himself and query her within the stand.

Dr Gerry mentioned victims now are shielded from their alleged abusers with the ability to query them in courtroom. “He’s really aggressive in his cross-examination of her,” she mentioned.

Gordon appealed his conviction after Keeler revealed she had not talked about the names of two males current in the course of the assault, resulting in Gordon being cleared and Keeler being accused of mendacity to the courtroom.

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Dr Gerry mentioned that by the point Ms Keeler’s trial got here up in December 1963 “she had lost the will to fight and pleaded guilty [to perjury] out of exhaustion”.

She mentioned that neither Lucky Gordon’s attraction nor Keeler’s trial would have been accepted now beneath fashionable tips concerning abuse. “It is incredible that the man who attacked her should walk away free but she should go to prison,” she mentioned.

Around the identical time, Stephen Ward, an osteopath who had launched Ms Keeler to Mr Profumo, was tried over a number of counts of residing off the earnings of prostitution and of procuring immoral earnings. The allegations had been the idea of false claims made about Ms Keeler, who was compelled to present proof in the course of the trial, being a prostitute.

Before the trial concluded Ward was discovered lifeless in his flat, having overdosed.

But Dr Gerry, a famend worldwide lawyer, described Ms Keeler’s convictions in 1963 as “classic victim-blaming” in a misogynist authorized system with an institution “undoubtedly” bent on revenge for the Profumo scandal which in impact introduced down Harold Macmillan’s authorities.

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“What people don’t realise is that Christine was not convicted for the Profumo affair. She was falsely described as a prostitute, people spat at her in the street. She was just 19 at the time and she had to live with that for the rest of her life,” she mentioned.

Dr Gerry in contrast the scenario to Profumo, who had an affair with Keeler and resigned in shame for mendacity about it in parliament.

“He has been rehabilitated. He got himself a plum job, as these men do, on some charity, and does great work for that charity, because that’s what the aristocrats do is they have enough money to work for charity.

“She could not get a job, or if she did and they found out who she was, she would lose it.”

Now, Dr Gerry is hopeful that with a feminine lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, and the first-ever feminine lord chief justice, Dame Sue Carr, that these girls can ship justice for Ms Keeler.

“If a lady chief justice were to give justice to Christine Keeler it would be a great thing. And this lady chief justice has the guts to do it. She really has. So we’re hopeful that the criminal Cases Review Commission will refer it to the Court of Appeal and we will finally clear Christine’s name.”