A swathe of bluebells parallel to the trod on Kirby Bank. I once read that the presence of bluebells on open ground is evidence that trees once provided the shade bluebells thrive on. Shade that in a week or so will be provided by the bracken. Perhaps a hedge once aligned this ancient trod from the Tees to Rievaulx Abbey.
58 years ago, at the height of the “swinging ’60s”, the country was rocked by a scandal that threatened to topple Harold Macmillan’s Conservative government.
On 22nd March, 1963, John Profumo, The Secretary of State for War, made a personal statement to the House of Commons, in which he denied he was having an extramarital affair or any “impropriety” with Christine Keeler, a young model and alleged prostitute1“PERSONAL STATEMENT (Hansard, 22 March 1963).” 2021. Millbanksystems.com <http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1963/mar/22/personal-statement#S5CV0674P0_19630322_HOC_7> [accessed 6 June 2021].
The statement was designed to quell the increasing rumours linking Profumo with Keeler who was simultaneously involved with a suspected Soviet spy Yevgeny Ivanov thereby compromising national security.
But the rumours continued, and on 4th June, Profumo confessed that Miss Keeler had indeed been his mistress and that his statement to the Commons was untrue. On 5th June, he resigned as war minister2History.com Editors. 2010. “British Secretary of War John Profumo Resigns amid Sex Scandal,” HISTORY (HISTORY) <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/profumo-resigns-in-sex-scandal> [accessed 6 June 2021], and the following day stood down as MP for Stratford-on-Avon3Wikipedia Contributors. 2021. “John Profumo,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Profumo> [accessed 6 June 2021].
Looking back almost sixty years after the event, it all seems a little passé. Extramarital affairs barely make the headlines nowadays, but Profumo’s real crime was to lie to Parliament. That was unacceptable then, and it is unacceptable now. In a functioning democracy, our public servants must have the highest honesty, integrity and probity.
- 1“PERSONAL STATEMENT (Hansard, 22 March 1963).” 2021. Millbanksystems.com <http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1963/mar/22/personal-statement#S5CV0674P0_19630322_HOC_7> [accessed 6 June 2021]
- 2History.com Editors. 2010. “British Secretary of War John Profumo Resigns amid Sex Scandal,” HISTORY (HISTORY) <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/profumo-resigns-in-sex-scandal> [accessed 6 June 2021]
- 3Wikipedia Contributors. 2021. “John Profumo,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Profumo> [accessed 6 June 2021]
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