Happy Birthday

Taken 1964 - on her release from prison by Ray Bellisario.

My mum, Christine Keeler was born on 22 February 1942, so today she would be 80 years old. I can’t imagine my mum at 80, I wonder, would she be even more cantankerous?!

The truth is she wasn’t very well in her last years and that’s probably why I can’t imagine her at 80, but birthdays are a celebration. They are a time to mark achievements and tell stories, a time to think back and look forward.

We have some great news regarding all the work we are doing to clear my mother’s name. We have received an update from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) saying that, after reviewing the evidence we gave them, they are willing to consider my mother’s case!

Right now we are busy pulling together the paperwork. I am also delighted that our legal team has grown as we are joined by Dr Rebecca Helm, a Senior Lecturer in Law at University of Exeter. Rebecca is helping answer some questions that the CCRC have asked and over the next week or two we will hand over our full submission that I will of course publish here.

This week, I caught myself doing something I saw my mother do. She would sometimes say, “It’s all there, I’ve written it down!” She would be tired or exasperated, it was a complicated story to tell, and honestly, a lot of the people she spoke to had their own fixed ideas about the story, about her, before they had even asked her a question.

With all the newspaper interviews I’ve done, none have ever mentioned this website. On every interview I’ve done I’ve asked, “Mention the website. All the information, all the proof, is online,” but they never do. As I had that thought, I heard my mother’s voice: “It’s all there, I’ve written it down,” and I had a good laugh.

It is different for me. I’m neither tired nor exasperated. In fact I’m happy to tell my mother’s story to anyone who wants to listen.

Happy birthday, Mum.

Raising a glass - whisky was my mums drink of choice