The Profumo Affair
Sex, a Russian spy and a government minister.
John Profumo was a United Kingdon, Secretary of War in 1961. He is best known though for a relationship he had with nineteen-year-old, Christine Keeler. The situation intensified when Keeler was linked to a Russian spy. Yvugeng Ivanov was a Russian naval attache who was under observation by M15, as a potential security risk.
This incident occurred in the 1960s. A time when the news was dominated by high profile spying cases. John Vassall, a homosexual admiralty clerk had been blackmailed by Russia to reveal secrets. The news was full of this and the general fear of the Soviet invasion.
John Profumo
Profumo was born in 1915 and was of Italian descent. He first entered parliament in 1940. During the Second World War, he combined both his military and political career. In 1960, Conservative prime minister, Macmillan promoted him to Secretary of State of War. A high ranking political placement. Despite being married to a well-known actress, Profumo was infamous for a string of affairs.
One of the women he embarked on an affair with was Christine Keeler.
