Roger Hollis in 1956 and remaining in that post until his retirement in 1965. After Kim Philby's flight from Beirut to Moscow in 1963, rumours began to circulate that Hollis had alerted him to his impending arrest. Hollis was criticised for not alerting John Profumo, the War Secretary in Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, that he might have become entangled with a Soviet spy ring through his friendship with Stephen Ward, and his affair with showgirl Christine Keeler, who was introduced by Ward to Profumo. Soviet Naval Attache Eugene Ivanov was also involved with Keeler at this time, in the early
Conservative government, 1957–1964 Maudling replaced Selwyn Lloyd as Chancellor, and Lord Kilmuir was replaced as Lord Chancellor by Lord Dilhorne, while Peter Thorneycroft returned to the cabinet as Minister of Defence. Rab Butler was also promoted to the office of First Secretary of State. The reshuffle was controversial within the Conservative Party, and was seen as a betrayal by many. Macmillan's credibility was also affected by the 1963 Profumo affair; he was now in his 69th year, and had until after his 70th birthday to call the next general election. The election of Harold Wilson as Labour Party leader early in the year,