Christine Keeler’s son vows to clear her name after appeal rejected | Politics | News

Christine Keeler’s son, Seymour Platt, has vowed to continue the fight to clear his late mother’s name after a recent setback. He branded the refusal to allow an appeal against her 1963 perjury conviction as “a disgrace”.

Christine, who passed away at 75 in 2017, was embroiled in scandal following her affair with Tory minister John Profumo and, according to Seymour, faced trumped-up charges as a result.

In a candid interview, Seymour, aged 53, expressed his determination: “I won’t give up. This is just another step towards justice. We will be making the application soon. My mother deserves justice. Everybody deserves justice. What happened to my mother was wrong, she shouldn’t have gone to prison.”

The saga dates back to when jazz singer Aloysius “Lucky” Gordon, who had been harassing Christine, was imprisoned in June 1963 for assaulting her. However, he overturned his conviction after two witnesses alleged Christine lied in court about their absence during the assault.

Christine confessed to perjury in December 1963 and received a nine-month sentence, reports the Mirror. 

Seymour and his legal advisors argue that Christine was coerced by the witnesses and lived in constant fear of Gordon. Despite this, the Criminal Case Review Commission declined to refer the case for an appeal.

The CCRC admitted that: “Miss Keeler could not have secured a fair trial, particularly in view of the unprecedented level of prejudicial media coverage of her.”

Yet, dismissing the appeal, it contended: “In quashing the perjury conviction, the Court of Appeal would have a very limited ability to correct the public record in relation to Christine Keeler’s part in the Profumo Affair.

“The Court of Appeal’s role would be focused upon the safety or otherwise of Christine Keeler’s conviction for perjury. A judgment from the Court of Appeal quashing the perjury conviction would not be able to restore Christine Keeler’s reputation or alter her public image.”

Moreover, the CCRC remarked: “The quashing of the conviction would be unlikely to reduce the media coverage of the case, in fact the opposite is true.”

Seymour, currently residing in Longford, Ireland, with his wife Lorraine and their daughter Daisy, commented: “I actually think it’s a disgrace, they’re basically justifying why they think it’s right to deny Christine Keeler justice.”

He further stated: “She was the victim of an assault, it’s all there in the public record. She was stalked and assaulted by a man. I’m determined to clear her name. In her will after she died, she asked me to tell the truth about her life. She went to prison and she should not have gone to prison.”

Revealing his intentions to pursue a Royal pardon, he elaborates: “I promised to clear my mother’s name and I will continue, I won’t give up. We will carry on. We will put in an application to the government and the King and I understand Queen Camilla campaigns to stop violence against women. I think this is an excellent example of a woman who suffered violence by a man and went to prison.”

The married War Minister Profumo, who was 46 at the time, became infamously involved with Christine Keeler, then aged 19, following their encounter at a swanky party. Her concurrent affair with Russian spy Yevgeny Ivanov added a layer of national security intrigue to the already explosive sex scandal.

Prime Minister Harold Macmillan derisively referred to her as a “tart”, and was succeeded by Harold Wilson, who spared no mercy in labelling her a “harlot”. Seymour recalls that his mother was unjustly made to bear the blame, casting a long shadow over her life.

He recounts: “One of the first things my mum would say to people was, ‘I went to prison a long time ago, I shouldn’t have gone to prison’. She carried the burden of shame, living under the stigma all her life.”

Christine’s personal life saw its own tumult; after marrying James Levermore in 1965 and having a child, they eventually split. Her second marriage to Anthony Platt in 1971 resulted in Seymour’s birth later that year, but it too ended in separation.

Christine Keeler’s life journey drew to a close after suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, passing away in the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough, South London.

The story of Christine Keeler, a key player in the Profumo affair, was recently dramatized in the hit BBC series The Trial of Christine Keeler, which drew in millions of viewers. However, in a judgement, the CCRC states: “In quashing the perjury conviction, the Court of Appeal would not necessarily be able to ‘set the record straight’ regarding the Lucky Gordon case.”

James Harbridge, the Dubai-based solicitor leading the campaign to clear Keeler’s name, expressed his disappointment with the decision, saying: “There’s nothing of any substance in the decision that if the perjury conviction was quashed ‘it would not be able to restore Christine Keeler’s ­reputation or alter her public image.’ Who is the commissioner to make this determination?”.

Harbridge added, “And whether it restores Christine’s reputation or restores her public image is immaterial, it’s a question of whether she deserves justice in having her perjury conviction quashed. What the public then makes of it, is up to the public.”

Dr Felicity Gerry KC, a prominent human rights barrister who assisted with the CCRC submission, also expressed her disappointment, stating: “It is extraordinarily disappointing for a case the CCRC found had merit to be denied an opportunity to appeal. Christine Keeler’s case is widely misunderstood. She was a victim of violence wrongly imprisoned for not mentioning two men who saw her being attacked.”

Dr Gerry added, “She bore the burden of Profumo’s scandal her whole life and should be posthumously pardoned.”