How The English Establishment Framed STEPHEN WARD
A number-one *bestseller when it came out in 1987 this updated book, "How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward" inspired Andrew Lloyd-Weber to write a musical about Stephen Ward. It puts a whole new interpretation on the Profumo Scandal and offers a wider perspective into its complex central figure, Stephen Ward, as well as a broader insight into one of the greatest scandals of the past 100 years. "How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward" is a major expose of a government cover-up that has lasted half a century. It is a powerful story of sexual compulsion, political scandal, police corruption, judicial abuse and ultimate betrayal. The book reveals never-before-heard testimony that has been uncovered by the authors in the years since the sex scandal broke. Using startling new evidence, including Stephen Ward’s own unpublished memoirs and hundreds of interviews with many who, conscience-stricken, have now spoken out for the first time, this important account rips through a half-century cover-up in order to show exactly why the government of the day, the police force, the Judiciary and the security forces decided to frame Stephen Ward. At the height of the Cold War, when the world held its breath for 13 days during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the authors show how Stephen Ward acted as an intermediary between the British and Soviet governments. As the authors’ research reveals, Stephen Ward’s “trial of the century” was caused by an unprecedented corruption of justice and political malice that resulted in an innocent man becoming a scapegoat for those who could not bear to lose power. This is an epic tale of sex, lies, and governmental abuse whose aftermath almost brought down the government and shook the American, British, and Soviet espionage worlds to their core. With its surprising revelations and meticulous research, Stephen Ward’s complete story can finally be told. Currently the authors are supporting the efforts to have Stephen Ward's case referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal and his conviction overturned.
*Several authors have since used evidence in this book as the basis for their own more recent books.
The Story Behind This Book
It was in the attic of an old English farmhouse, on a lovely autumn evening in September 1984, that this book had its beginnings. Two years earlier I had been doing some research for a television film about the "Profumo Affair", had arrived at this same house to interview the owner. As we talked I found out he was an old friend of my late brother-in-law, Dominick Elwes. Later in the day the discussion turned to Elwes's friendship with Dr. Stephen Ward, the society osteopath, who was a central figure in the 1963 scandal. Elwes, my host told me, had stood bail for Stephen Ward, had worked with him on a proposed television film about his life and had produced a film entitled, "The Christine Keeler Story." In a trunk in his attic, he explained, he had tape recordings and scripts which Elwes had given him years ago. Would I be interested in taking a look? So, on my return visit, that autumn evening, after riffling through the contents of the trunk, I returned home with a box full of old letters, voluminous pages of handwritten and typed filmscript and reels of tape. I immediately transferred the tapes on to cassettes and, through the scratchy quality of the 1960s recordings, emerged Ward's compelling voice. I listened to Ward with absolute fascination. Only a week earlier I had heard Lord Denning on TV describe Ward as, "the most evil man he had ever met." Ward hardly sounded evil to me. He was rational, intelligent, persuasive. I began to wonder. Had we got him wrong? I decided to try to find out all I could. In all I have spent 5 years of my life gathering the evidence to prove Stephen Ward was framed by the government, the police force, MI5 and the judiciary. I spoke to many people who had not spoken to anyone before about the Profumo Affair and the role of Stephen Ward. I am very grateful to them for trusting me and opening up to me. The story that has emerged is a very different story from the accepted version of the day.