26 Facts About John Profumo

The scandal, which became known as the Profumo affair, led to his resignation from the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan.

John Profumo was born in Kensington, London, the son of Albert John Profumo, a diplomat and barrister of Italian ancestry, who died in 1940.

In 1933, "Jack" John Profumo began a long-term relationship with a German student, Gisela Klein, who later became a model and subsequently worked for German intelligence in Paris, and eventually married an American called Edward Winegard.

Secret Service papers state John Profumo wrote to Winegard while he was an MP.

John Profumo had previously been a member of the Officer Training Corps and a Cadet Sergeant while at Harrow.

John Profumo served in North Africa with the Northamptonshire Yeomanry as a Captain, where he was mentioned in dispatches.

John Profumo landed in Normandy on D-Day and was engaged in the subsequent fierce fighting to secure that region of France.

On 21 December 1944, Major John Profumo was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire "in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Italy", specifically, for his service on Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander's staff commanding the 15th Army Group.

In November 1947, Acting Colonel John Profumo was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the United States "in recognition of distinguished services in the cause of the Allies".

In 1940, while still serving in the Army, John Profumo was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Kettering in Northamptonshire at a by-election on 3 March.

John Profumo was then the youngest MP and, by the time of his death, he had become the last surviving former member of the 1940 House of Commons.

John Profumo was a well-connected politician with a good war record and, despite Margesson's aforementioned outburst, was highly regarded in the Conservative Party.

John Profumo was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in November 1952, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation in November 1953, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in January 1957, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office in November 1958, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in January 1959.

John Profumo then made a personal statement in which he admitted he knew Keeler but denied there was any "impropriety" in their relationship and threatened to sue if newspapers asserted otherwise.

John Profumo's statement did not prevent newspapers publishing stories about Keeler, and it soon became apparent to Macmillan that John Profumo's position was untenable.

On 5 June 1963, John Profumo was forced to admit that he had lied to the House in March when he denied an affair with Keeler, which at that time was an unforgivable offence in British politics.

John Profumo resigned from office and from the Privy Council, and applied for and was appointed to the role of steward of the Chiltern Hundreds to give up his Commons seat.

John Profumo was portrayed by Daniel Flynn in Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical Stephen Ward, which opened at the Aldwych Theatre on 19 December 2013.

Shortly after his resignation, John Profumo was invited to work at Toynbee Hall as a volunteer by Walter Birmingham, who was a warden there.

Toynbee Hall is a charity based in the East End of London, and John Profumo continued to work there for the rest of his life, becoming Toynbee Hall's chief fundraiser, and using his political skills and contacts to raise large sums of money.

All this work was done as a volunteer, since John Profumo was able to live on his inherited wealth.

John Profumo was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1975 Birthday Honours, and received the honour at a Buckingham Palace ceremony from Queen Elizabeth II, signalling his return to respectability.

John Profumo appeared only occasionally in public, particularly in his last years when he used a wheelchair.

On 7 March 2006, John Profumo suffered a stroke and was admitted to London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

John Profumo died two days later surrounded by his family, at the age of 91.

John Profumo was cremated at Mortlake Crematorium; his ashes were buried next to those of his wife at the family vault in front of St Peter's Church in Hersham.