23. The Profumo Affairs Morphs Into a Devastating Scandal
Proving that Profumo had lied when he denied that there had been any impropriety turned out to be child’s play for the paparazzi and tabloid press. It was bad, but he still might have survived – politicians lying to hide affairs are not uncommon – were it not for bad timing. There had been a string of recent spy scandals, and it emerged that Profumo’s mistress, Christine Keeler, had also had a fling with a naval attache at the Soviet embassy.
10 weeks after lying to Parliament, Profumo confessed and resigned. The scandal shook the Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, who resigned a few months later on health grounds. A few months later, the reeling Conservatives lost the 1964 elections to the Labor Party, and were ousted from power.
