‘Secrets and Lies’ by Christine Keeler

My Review (5 stars out of 5)

Sixties model Christine Keeler tells her part in helping bring down Harold Macmillan’s government via the infamous scandal known as the Profumo Affair. Uncovering the intimate lives of her friends Stephen Ward and model Mandy Rice-Davies, Keeler relates what actually happened all those years ago, including disclosures she did not wish to be published in her lifetime.

This is the updated version of Keeler’s book, The Truth at Last: My Story (2001), with additions which (supposedly) have only recently been released. For sure it’s an absorbing story that points the finger at a lot of government and other officials for their parts in covering up the truth. Even today, details of the enquiry led by Lord Denning won’t see daylight until 2063, which suggest Keeler’s version of events is probably right. What is a little hard to believe is her unerring ability to recall the precise details of all those conversations, dates and events from nearly forty years earlier (at the time of publication of the first book). Aside from Profumo’s letters to her, there is no mention of diaries, notes or other recordings used to back up her story.

Nevertheless, it’s a fascinating tale, excellently narrated by Sophie Cookson, who also starred in the recent BBC dramatisation.

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