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ie 124, Up till this time the Attorney-General had been dubious whether Mr, Profumo was telling the truth. He was keeping the matter. im suspense. But when he found that Mr. Profumo was prepared to bring am aetion for libel, and had actually instructed his solicitor to do 20, and (it he was prepared to prosecute on the request for £5,000, he did not sec. how he could disbelieve Mr. Profumo, and decided there was no reason why be should not accept his story. We now know that on Tuesday, Sth February, 1963, Mr. Profumo and his solicitor did see the Director of Public Prosecutions who advised against a prosecution. But that does not affect the argument. . What impressed the Attorney-General was the readiness of Mr. Profumo to prosecute. Coe 125. No one can understand the role of the Chief Whip (Mr. Martin Redmayne, M.P.} in this matter uniess he realises that be is very concerned with the good name of the Government and the Ministers who comprise it. If rumours are about which may embarrass the Government, it is the business of the Chief Whip to know of them and to report them to the Prime Minister. The Chief Whip was very concerned at this time with the rumours about Mr. Galbraith (which were subsequently shown in Lord Radciifie's inguiry to be completely unfounded). So he was concerned here with the rumours about Mr. Profumo. \ (vi) Ist February, 1963—A Newspaper call at Admiralty House fr SEN 126. In order to see how the Chief Whip came into the matter, I must first refer to a very important thing which happened. On the afternoon of Friday, Ist February, 1963, a senior executive of a newspaper telephoned Admiralty House and asked to see the Prime Minister. But the Prime Minister was away in Italy and would not be back until the evening of Sunday, 3rd February. So the executive called at Admiralty House and gave this information to one of his Secretaries, who recorded it in this note: ~ “ The object of his call concerned a security matter. . . . Mr. Profumo had compromised himself with a girl who was involved with a negro iM a case aboui atiempied murder. ... This girl's story has been sold to the Daily Mirror Group and it will include passages in which she was involved with Mr. Profumo and in which the Russian Naval Attaché also figured. . . . Mr. Profumo is alleged to have met this girl ‘ Kolania’ through Lord Astor at Cliveden, where they chased her naked round the bathing pool... . It is also alleged that (j) ‘Kolania’ got into this company through the agency of a Mr. Ward, who was a ‘ psychopathic specialist’ of Wimpole Street; (ii) Mr. Profumo, visiting * Kolania’ in Mr. Ward’s bouse, passed in the passage the Russian Naval Attaché on his way out from ‘Kolania’; (iii) ‘Kolania’ has two letters on War Office paper signed ‘J’—alihough it is mot suggested that tess letiers ate anything more than ones of assignation.” (vii) 1st February, 1963-—The Security Service come to 127, On receipt of this minute the Prime Minister's n rece this minu Priel Private Secretary asked the Deputy Director-General of the Security Servite to come to Admiralty House. His object was simply to tell him about it and to get 40