Andrew Lloyd Webber: Profumo fall guy was the victim of a terrible injustice

The prosecution of Profumo “fall guy” Stephen Ward was one of the great miscarriages of justice, Andrew Lloyd Webber said today as he launched his new musical inspired by the case.

The composer said “the establishment” which once courted the charming society osteopath made him a scapegoat for the affair between War Minister John Profumo and showgirl Christine Keeler that shocked Britain and severely damaged the government of Tory prime minister Harold Macmillan.

Ward committed suicide in 1963, aged 50, after being charged with living off the profits of prostitution, having introduced Keeler and Profumo at a party at Cliveden House in Berkshire.

He took an overdose the night before his trial ended and was in a coma when he was found guilty of living off immoral earnings, but cleared of procuring prostitutes. He died three days later.

Profumo eventually quit government after lying over his affair with Keeler, who was also alleged to be the mistress of a Soviet spy.

Lloyd Webber’s musical is opening as moves are being made to overturn Ward’s conviction, with Geoffrey Robertson QC set to conduct an analysis of the case against him and the conduct of the trial.

Lloyd Webber said: “There is a feeling that it was one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history.

“It wasn’t exactly an establishment stitch-up. The way the establishment works is to close things down.

“But I find him a fascinating character. He was clearly a life-enhancer. But in no way was he an immoral person.

“How could the most popular man in London, the man that everybody wanted to meet, become a pariah within weeks? It’s an astonishing tale.”

Lloyd Webber said he believed a repetition of such a scandal was not impossible. The Government only recently refused to open files on the case, which are restricted until 2046.

He wrote the show because “there are no parts in musicals for a 50-year-old man”.

Alexander Hanson, 52, who plays Ward, said: “I think he was really stitched up and it’s quite nice to set the record straight.”

Charlotte Spencer plays Christine Keeler and Charlotte Blackledge, who was spotted by Lloyd Webber at a Central School of Speech and Drama workshop, makes her professional stage debut as showgirl Mandy Rice-Davies.

Rice-Davies, who now lives in Surrey with her third husband Ken Foreman, helped Lloyd Webber with the script and will attend today’s official launch at the Aldwych Theatre.

Stephen Ward previews at the Aldwych Theatre from December 3. www.stephenwardthemusical.com