Christine Keeler's son begs MPs to clear mum - 60 years after Wes Streeting jail link

The defiant son of scandal icon has spent .

Seymour Platt now hopes thecould finally help clear her name – particularly as she shared a cell with Health Minister grandmother. Seymour said: “I try not to be political but I’m bloody delighted that it’s a and not the , to be blunt. I’d love Labour to look at this with fresh eyes and be humane to correct an inhumane decision.”

In 2022 Mr Streeting told how his grandfather William Crowley was an armed robber who was “in and out of prison” most of his life and had known the Krays. He said Crowley “took down” his grandmother Elizabeth “Libby” Crowley, who was jailed for possession of a stolen radio and sent to HMP Holloway.

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She shared a cell with Christine and they became friends, sharing the belief they were both victims of the men in their lives. On podcast Political Thinking with , Mr Streeting branded Libby’s conviction a “real injustice”. He said: “The tragedy of that makes me really angry, even now.”

Referring to his grandmother’s friendship with Christine, Mr Streeting added: “Talk about chalk and cheese, you had this working-class East Ender in my nan Libby and then you had Christine Keeler of high society. But I remember my nan talking about Christine Keeler and feeling very strongly that she had been a victim of injustice and what had happened to her had been wrong. They stayed in contact for many years after she left prison.”

Christine was just 21 when she was jailed for perjury in 1963. She had been attacked by stalker Aloysius “Lucky” Gordon in April that year. But he successfully appealed after it was found she had told jurors two witnesses were not there. Her family argue there was no doubt the assault took place and that Christine lived in fear of Gordon.

She had also allegedly been put under pressure by the witnesses. But they have so far been unable to ­overturn the conviction. Earlier this year justice watchdogs rejected an application to send her case to the Court of Appeal. The Criminal Cases Review Commission accepted she could not have “secured a fair trial, particularly in view of the ­unprecedented level of prejudicial media coverage of her at the time”.

But it said: “In quashing the perjury conviction, the Court of Appeal would have a very limited ability to correct the public record in relation to [her] part in the Profumo affair.” Her family’s last hope is to ask the Justice Secretary to recommend a pardon under the royal prerogative of mercy, which is only used in ­incredibly rare ­circumstances.

Now Seymour has lodged an application for a Royal Pardon, which must be signed off by the King. An application can be considered when all other judicial routes have been exhausted, or new evidence demonstrates no offence was committed or the defendant did not commit the offence. Most importantly, the pardon can be handed down if “the person was morally and ­technically innocent of the crime”.

Solicitor James Harbridge, who helped compile the application, said: “It’s truly amazing this whole chain of events remain ongoing, even though Lucky Gordon admitted at his own trial that he slapped Christine. The jury took less than 15 minutes to convict him in June 1963, but here we are in May 2025, still seeking justice for the victim and her family.”

Dr Felicity Gerry, a human rights barrister who is supporting Seymour, said: “Every woman you speak to says her conviction was a terrible miscarriage of justice. She was exploited and sent to prison. She was ‘slut-shamed’ her whole life for the Profumo affair.”

The Ministry of Justice said: “We take miscarriages of justice very ­seriously and the Justice Secretary considers all applications for pardons.”