◆ SpookStack

161. On the right-ha hand side of the page there was pboogaph of Christine Keeler headed “ VANISHED OLD BAILEY below: “This is Christine Keeler, ‘the 21-year-old model who at found to be missing yesterday when the Old Bailey trial of a man é@ccused of attempting to murder her began, The jury was told: ‘ As far as the © police are concerned, she has simply disappeared °.” On an inner page there were four striking photographs of Christine Keeler from which most peopie could readily infer her calling. = 162, {a point of fact, Mr. Profumo had never seen the Prime Minister nor offered his resignation. All that had happened was that, six weeks earlier, he had seen the Chief Whip and asked if he ought to resign and had been told that if there was no truth in the rumours, he should not resign. The Daily Express was not the only newspaper to get the story of an offer of resignation. The Liverpool Daily Post had it also. : 163. The Daily Express told me that the juxtaposition of the two stories —Christine Keeler’s disappearance and Mr. Profumo's resignationa—was entirely coincidental and supplemented it with reasons. Accepting this to be so, it had nevertheless unfortunate results. It is true, of course, that those of the readers who had not heard the rumours would not take it that there was any connection between the two stories. But it would seem that some of their readers, namely those who Aad heard the rumour of Mr. Profumo’s association with Christine Keeler, now added to it this further rumour, that he was responsible for her disappearance, To them it would carry * defamatory t meaning, te uo (iii) The Attorney-General is Consntted 164. The front page of the Daily Express aroused a good deal of alarm. The Chief Whip felt the thing was getting out of hand. He asked whether it was actionable. On the self-same day, 15th March, 1963, the Prime Minister himself discussed the position with the Attorney-General. The Attorney- General thought it would be premature to issue any writs or anything of that sort. He took the view that there was nothing in the newspaper that could be described as defamatory: and that the right course was to wait for the Sunday newspapers and see what, if auything, they published. (iv) The Sunday Pictorial Publish Stephen Ward's Story 165-2 The Sunday Pictorial waited till after the Edgecombe case to publish Stephen Ward's story. They had got it all ready beforehand. It was approved by Stephen Ward and his solicitors. The fee was to be £575. It was to be paid direct to Stephen Ward's solicitors. The reason because Stephen Ward owed his solicitors £475 for the costs of all thagid@id to stop Christine Keeler’s story: and his solicitors wanted to be sure q ” 166. So, as soon as the Edgecombe case was over,’ "on Sunday, 17th March, 1963, the Sunday Pictorial published Stephen Ward't story. They combined it with a cogent comment on the disappearance of Christine Keeler. 32