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. g)- © 172. The debate ended at 122 am. and Mr. Henry Brooke, the Home ; = * Secretary, went straight home. No one asked him to stay and he knew awe nothing of the events of the rest of the might!) § 0-0? ‘sil Fer Loe A tet robe . hops ae boot ela Sede * Oe ats 173. But the Chief Whip had meanwhile seen Mr. Profumo. Mr. Prefiame had been to a dinner and looked into the House on his way home. ik saw the Chief Whip, who told him of the accusations that had been made: The Chief Whip said to him, “I must ask you point blank, did you or didn’t you?” He said, “I didn’t”. And the Chief Whip told him that he thought ho might have to make a statement: but that he should go back and fo to bed. So Mr. Profumo, with his wife, went back to bed. Their house was besieged by reporters, but they ran the siege and got in about 12.40 am., very wrought up, took sleeping pills, and went to bed. 6 174, The Chief Whip meanwhile bad been thinking more about th matter. It occurred to him that these statements in the House afforded an opportunity to bring the rumours to an end and that the right way to deal with them was for Mr, Profumo to make a personal statement in the House. % - He telephoned to the Prime Minister, who agreed, The actual sequence: of | events is difficult to disentangle but this is what took place. After the debate ; was over, about 1.30 a.m., the Chief Whip asked Mr. Macleod (who, as eZ the Leader of the House, was naturally concerned in any personal statement) to come along to his room. Soon afterwards the Attorney-General came in. He took the view very strongly that this was the occasion which Mr. Profumo ought to take to deny the rumours. Mr. Profumo had been waiting. for an opportunity to bring a libel action. But here was an opportunity to scotch them by a personal statement. Next the question arose as to when it should be made. It was agreed between them that it was undesirable to leave the rumours unanswered over the week-end (for the Sunday newspapers would have them without a denial). So it would have to be done in the morning, Friday morning. They all thought it was desirable to have first-hand information about what had been said. So they asked Mr. Deedes (the Minister, without Portfolio) to come as he had been present in the Chamber and heard all that was said. He had gone home, but the Chief Whip telephoned him and asked him to come back. The Solicitor-General (who had gone to his room) came back too. So there were present all the Ministers who heard the statements made (except the Home Secretary), together with the Chief Whip and the Leader of the House, who had special responsibilities if a personal statement was to be made. It was not a pre-arranged meeting of the five Ministers. It just grew. .- - = . a (iv) Mr. Profumo and his Solicitor are called to the House 175. It was, of course, plain that, if Mr. Profumo was to make personal statement next morning, he had to be called back. This: oc . Jong time because he could not be got on the telephone and the Cal sent his assistant with a car for him. Mr. and Mrs. Profumo were about 2.45 a.m. (despite the sleeping pills). Mrs. Profumo describe to me 35 t