The Ministry of Justice has refused a posthumous Royal Prerogative of Mercy for Christine Keeler, the model at the center of the 1960s Profumo scandal, a decision her family has condemned as a contradiction.
Family Vows to Continue Fight
Christine's son, Seymour Platt, 53, criticized the refusal, which came just days after Justice Secretary David Lammy granted a conditional pardon to Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in the UK. Seymour said: "The Ministry of Justice has now formally acknowledged that my mother suffered an injustice. That matters. But refusing a pardon while accepting an injustice is a contradiction that cannot stand."
He added: "This won't stop us though, it fuels the fire, it makes me more determined than ever to overturn her conviction." The family had submitted a 300-page dossier in May last year calling for the pardon, which would have allowed the King to overturn her 1963 perjury conviction.
Ministry of Justice Response
In a letter seen by the Mirror, Ministry of Justice officials recognized that Keeler had experienced an "injustice" but said "it is neither possible nor practical to reassess past events through the lens of today’s justice system or to apply modern standards and views." They also ruled there was "no new evidence" and "no exceptional or extraordinary factors" to grant a Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
The Perjury Conviction
Keeler was jailed for perjury in an unrelated case after the Profumo scandal broke. She had been attacked by stalker Aloysius "Lucky" Gordon in April 1963. Gordon was convicted of assault and jailed for three years, but appealed, citing inaccuracies in Keeler's testimony. The Court of Appeal overturned his conviction after it emerged that two witnesses, Rudolph "Truello" Fenton and Clarence Camacchio, had pressured Keeler not to involve them. Her family argue the assault undoubtedly took place and that Keeler lived in fear of Gordon.
Last year, the Criminal Cases Review Commission rejected an application to send her perjury case to the Court of Appeal, accepting she could not have had a fair trial due to prejudicial media coverage but saying the court would have limited ability to correct the public record regarding the Profumo affair.
Comparison with Ruth Ellis Pardon
In Ruth Ellis's case, the King granted a conditional pardon because she was physically and emotionally abused by her partner David Blakely before she killed him. Under modern law, she might have argued partial defenses of loss of control or diminished responsibility. Keeler's representatives say she should be considered similarly, as she lied in court because she was terrified of Gordon.
Dr Felicity Gerry, a human rights barrister supporting Seymour, said: "The recognition that women who are victims of violent abuse and coercion should not suffer condign punishment is a great step forward. It makes a similar approach to the exploitation and extreme punishment of Christine Keeler possible."
The Profumo Scandal
The Profumo scandal erupted in 1963 when it was discovered that 19-year-old Keeler had bedded 46-year-old War Minister John Profumo and Russian spy Yevgeny Ivanov in the same week. The affair came to light after one of Keeler's ex-lovers fired gunshots at Dr Stephen Ward's flat. Profumo denied the affair in a statement to the Commons in March 1963 but was forced to admit he lied in June, resigning in disgrace. Dr Ward was tried for pimping and killed himself after being found guilty. The scandal tainted the Tory government, leading to Harold Macmillan's resignation as Prime Minister and the election loss of his successor Alec Douglas-Home the following year.
Keeler died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2017 at age 75. In her will, she begged Seymour to "tell the truth about her life." Seymour now lives in Longford, Ireland, with his wife Lorraine and their daughter Daisy.
