News from #PardonChristineKeeler campaign
14 June 2021: PARDON CHRISTINE KEELER CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
A campaign to posthumously pardon Christine Keeler was launched officially today.
The campaign is led by Christine’s son, Seymour Platt, and supported by Felicity Gerry QC and solicitor James Harbridge.
Launching the campaign, Seymour Platt said:
“I believe Christine Keeler is morally and legally innocent of the crime of Perjury. For 18 months, she was a victim of stalking – decades before it was recognised as a crime, and before its impact on victims was understood. Her stalker raped and held her captive before finally attacking her in public. He was set free, while she was sentenced to nine months for Perjury – simply because she didn’t name two male witnesses to the attack.
“Her conviction meant she lost the right to be defamed, so anyone could say whatever they wanted about her for the rest of her life – and she was powerless to set the record straight. My mother was tormented by this until the day she died. In her will, she asked me to continue the fight to clear her name. This is why I am campaigning for a pardon for my mother, Christine Keeler.”
Felicity Gerry QC said:
“Christine’s case is the archetypal example of the destructive force that is the intrusive treatment of women as scandal fodder. The legacy of her treatment has modern parallels. Granting this Petition is an opportunity for public recognition and reappraisal of the enormous damage that can be done to women by the State, the press and abusive individuals. It is an opportunity to acknowledge historic discrimination against women and to reduce that continuing legacy for women today.”
James Harbridge said:
“In her very first police statement, Christine said that, when Gordon attacked her, another man had been present. Later, under oath, she denied the presence of that man and a second male witness, but she did so under duress (they didn’t want to be involved or named), and because these men were immaterial to the fact that Gordon had attacked her. Her denial was not material, and therefore, in law, not perjury - especially as a third witness saw the crime and testified accordingly. In short, Christine protected two men she barely knew. Meanwhile, in Parliament, she was branded a “harlot” and a “whore”, rather than as a victim of violence and lies.”
Seymour Platt, who is leading the Pardon Christine Keeler Campaign, has made a formal petition for mercy to the Secretary of State. The campaign also aims to tell the real story of Christine’s life, and to ensure history remembers her accurately.
Further information is available at: www.christine-keeler.co.uk.
Seymour Platt and Felicity Gerry QC are happy to consider interview requests. Contact Seymour Platt on [email protected].
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Christine Keeler was just 15 when she fled to London in 1957 after being sexually abused by her step-father and his friends. She found work and survived. But, as a result she became embroiled in the scandal around Government Minister, John Profumo, in 1963.
During the same period, she was stalked, raped and held captive and then attacked by ‘Lucky’ Gordon, a man who already had a conviction for stabbing another woman. Two men saw the attack. But, with criminal records, they didn’t want to be involved. Feeling under pressure, Christine denied those witnesses’ presence at her attacker’s trial. Later, she was convicted of Perjury on the basis of that omission, and sentenced to nine months in prison. Her attacker was set free – despite admitting attacking her, and witnesses eventually confirming she was attacked. She remained scared of him for the rest of her life.
Because people convicted of Perjury cannot be defamed, anyone was able to say what they wanted about her, and to make money doing so – writing books and making films – many of which were inaccurate, even portraying her stalker as her boyfriend. Christine was powerless against this, effectively silenced by the system that failed to protect her. This intolerable injustice took a toll on her mental health, and she suffered until she died aged 75.
#ChristineKeeler
#PardonChristineKeeler
#JusticeforChristineKeeler
#stopviolenceagainstwomen
#endviolenceagainstwomen
#VAWG
The campaign is led by Christine’s son, Seymour Platt, and supported by Felicity Gerry QC and solicitor James Harbridge.
Launching the campaign, Seymour Platt said:
“I believe Christine Keeler is morally and legally innocent of the crime of Perjury. For 18 months, she was a victim of stalking – decades before it was recognised as a crime, and before its impact on victims was understood. Her stalker raped and held her captive before finally attacking her in public. He was set free, while she was sentenced to nine months for Perjury – simply because she didn’t name two male witnesses to the attack.
“Her conviction meant she lost the right to be defamed, so anyone could say whatever they wanted about her for the rest of her life – and she was powerless to set the record straight. My mother was tormented by this until the day she died. In her will, she asked me to continue the fight to clear her name. This is why I am campaigning for a pardon for my mother, Christine Keeler.”
Felicity Gerry QC said:
“Christine’s case is the archetypal example of the destructive force that is the intrusive treatment of women as scandal fodder. The legacy of her treatment has modern parallels. Granting this Petition is an opportunity for public recognition and reappraisal of the enormous damage that can be done to women by the State, the press and abusive individuals. It is an opportunity to acknowledge historic discrimination against women and to reduce that continuing legacy for women today.”
James Harbridge said:
“In her very first police statement, Christine said that, when Gordon attacked her, another man had been present. Later, under oath, she denied the presence of that man and a second male witness, but she did so under duress (they didn’t want to be involved or named), and because these men were immaterial to the fact that Gordon had attacked her. Her denial was not material, and therefore, in law, not perjury - especially as a third witness saw the crime and testified accordingly. In short, Christine protected two men she barely knew. Meanwhile, in Parliament, she was branded a “harlot” and a “whore”, rather than as a victim of violence and lies.”
Seymour Platt, who is leading the Pardon Christine Keeler Campaign, has made a formal petition for mercy to the Secretary of State. The campaign also aims to tell the real story of Christine’s life, and to ensure history remembers her accurately.
Further information is available at: www.christine-keeler.co.uk.
Seymour Platt and Felicity Gerry QC are happy to consider interview requests. Contact Seymour Platt on [email protected].
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Christine Keeler was just 15 when she fled to London in 1957 after being sexually abused by her step-father and his friends. She found work and survived. But, as a result she became embroiled in the scandal around Government Minister, John Profumo, in 1963.
During the same period, she was stalked, raped and held captive and then attacked by ‘Lucky’ Gordon, a man who already had a conviction for stabbing another woman. Two men saw the attack. But, with criminal records, they didn’t want to be involved. Feeling under pressure, Christine denied those witnesses’ presence at her attacker’s trial. Later, she was convicted of Perjury on the basis of that omission, and sentenced to nine months in prison. Her attacker was set free – despite admitting attacking her, and witnesses eventually confirming she was attacked. She remained scared of him for the rest of her life.
Because people convicted of Perjury cannot be defamed, anyone was able to say what they wanted about her, and to make money doing so – writing books and making films – many of which were inaccurate, even portraying her stalker as her boyfriend. Christine was powerless against this, effectively silenced by the system that failed to protect her. This intolerable injustice took a toll on her mental health, and she suffered until she died aged 75.
#ChristineKeeler
#PardonChristineKeeler
#JusticeforChristineKeeler
#stopviolenceagainstwomen
#endviolenceagainstwomen
#VAWG
