Palm of the Hand

It’s been an interesting week. More of you have come forward asking to help, which has been brilliant. Any help is much appreciated; even just telling friends about this really helps. It has also been a little frustrating at times, with one journalist telling me that the story I’m trying to tell is too complicated for their readers.

I was laughing the other day when reading through Christine’s original manuscript It was a comment about how tough her stepfather Ted was, when she was a child. She tells a story about falling out of a moving car and another one about pets being drowned, but the line that made me laugh was something she said Ted used to say to her: Ted used to tell me, “Wish in one hand and spit in the other, and see which one gets filled up first”.

It is a dark enough expression to use, the glass is definitely half empty with this expression, only this wasn't quite what Ted would say, it was:

“Wish in one hand and SHIT in the other, and see which one gets filled up first”

That was just Christine being polite, being a little discreet. I remember Christine speaking on the phone with a different voice, her telephone voice. That was the generation she was from, it is not lying, it is just not wanting to be rude.

A student reached out a few weeks ago asking about Christine’s campaign and they mentioned how after reading Christine’s Wikipedia page they where given no idea about Lucky Gordon and his history with Christine. It is true that her Wikipedia page glazes over some important aspects of her story and in some places is just plain wrong.

It is frustrating because I have made one or two changes on Wikipedia only to see them taken out again!

Here are some examples:
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Wikipedia Says: The exact length of the affair between Keeler and Profumo is disputed, ending either in August 1961, once Profumo was warned by the security services of the possible dangers of mixing with the Ward circle, or continuing with decreasing fervour until December 1961.

I wanted to add: Christine said that the relationship ended in December 1961 and, in his statement to the House, Profumo said he last saw Christine in December.

The Wikipedia author implies that Christine has lied about the length of the affair, maybe even exaggerated the affair and they have made an assumption about Profumo’s reaction to the warning.

Extract from Profumos statement

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Wikipedia says: ... Yevgeny Ivanov. According to Keeler, she and Ivanov had a short sexual relationship.

I wanted to add/change:
After an evening drinking vodka, Christine and Ivanov had a one-time sexual relationship - Ivanov confirmed Christine’s account in his 1992 book ‘The Naked Spy”.

The Wikipedia line implies that Christine lied about this. You will notice this as a trend throughout her Wikipedia page.

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Wikipedia says: After her relationship with Profumo ended, Keeler was sexually involved with several partners, including jazz
singer Lucky Gordon and jazz promoter Johnny Edgecombe. There was considerable jealousy between the two men; in one quarrel on 27 October 1962, Edgecombe slashed Gordon's face with a knife.

This is all just wrong.

Starting with “Keeler was sexually involved with several partners.” It’s an uncomfortable line in itself, but with regards to a relationship with Gordon, it ignores all the evidence.

Christine always maintained that Lucky Gordon was never a boyfriend; in fact she stated that on two occasions he raped her. If you decide not to believe Christine there is still Johnny Edgecombe in his book ‘Black Scandal’ confirming the terror Christine had for Lucky Gordon. The police also confirmed that they had been called on a number of occasions because Gordon had “molested or assaulted” Christine. Testimony from Paula and Christine in Gordon’s trial in June 1963 and her trial in September shows the fear and intimidation she suffered at the hands of Gordon. There is no evidence to suggest Christine was ever in a consensual relationship with Gordon.

Court reports taken from Christine’s trial Dec 1963

So this is what I wanted to change it to:

In October 1961 Christine met Lucky Gordon when buying cannabis for her and Stephen Ward. Christine alleges that Lucky Gordon, who had a record of violence against woman, started an 18 month campaign of intimidation and harassment and assaulted her on numerous occasions. In May 1962 Christine and Michael Lambton were briefly engaged. In Sept 1962 Christine met jazz promoter Johnny Edgecombe and they started a relationship. On 27 October 1962, while Christine and Johnny were out dancing, there was a dispute with Lucky Gordon that ended with Edgecombe slashing Gordon’s face with a knife.

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Wikipedia says: On the 18th of April 1963, Keeler was attacked at the home of a friend. She accused Gordon, who was arrested and charged. At his trial, which began on the 5th of June, he maintained that his innocence would be established by two witnesses who, the police told the court, could not be found. On the 7th of June, mainly on the evidence of Keeler, Gordon was found guilty and sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

It’s just not true that Gordon said the two witnesses would establish his innocence, he just didn't say that. Gordon argued that although he had hit Christine, he wasn’t responsible for all of her injuries and that she had run into a door whilst trying to get away from him. The police doctor’s evidence was also key in Gordon’s conviction.

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Wikipedia says: Ward's trial, which ran from the 22nd to the 31st of July 1963, has been characterised as "an act of political revenge" for the embarrassment caused to the government. He was accused of living off immoral earnings, earned through Keeler
and Mandy Rice-Davies, on the basis of the small contributions to household expenses or loan repayments the two had made to Ward while living with him. Ward's professional earnings as
an osteopath were a substantial £5,500 a year (£118,200 in 2019) at the time these small payments were made. After a hostile summing-up from the trial judge, Ward was convicted, but before the jury returned their verdict, he took an overdose of barbiturates and died before sentence could be passed. In the closing days of Ward's trial ...

As a point of interest I don't know where the source of Ward’s earnings as £5,500 per year comes from. Police records state £2,852 was his best year in 1962 and he had considerable expenses with that.

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Wikipedia says: Gordon's assault conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal when his missing witnesses were found and testified that the evidence given by Keeler was substantially false

What I wanted to change it to was: Gordon's assault conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal when his missing witnesses were found on the basis that Christine had lied about the two other men being present at the assault.

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Wikipedia says: ... she was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment, serving four and a half months in prison.

This should say: serving six months.

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The changes I wanted to make are supported with actual evidence. The entry is not complete, but I hope the changes tell the story more clearly and objectively. I also believe it removes some of the malice in the text. Lastly, it is Christine’s Wikipedia page, so it should tell her story. Maybe there are some people out there who just want to think that Christine lied about everything. Maybe some people who support Stephen Ward can’t hide a certain contempt for Christine and Mandy or maybe some people don't actually know the story as well as they think they do.


When I was young Christine would take the palm of my hand and tell me there was a big farm right there in my hand. She pointed to the field were they grew potatoes and where the cows were kept, and on my hand she would point at the farmhouse and a greenhouse for the tomatoes. Finally she would ask me, “What do you think is here, in the middle of the farm?” and she would point at the middle of my hand. “It’s a duck pond,” she said as a big drop of spit landed in the middle of the farm. It was gross but it was funny and sometimes that’s what families are.

But I am sure there are some people who will now say that Christine had a nasty habit of spitting at people.