John Profumo its defeat by Labour at the 1964 election. Macmillan had already gone by then, having resigned in October 1963 to be succeeded by Alec Douglas-Home. Profumo maintained complete public silence about the matter for the rest of his life, even when the 1989 film "Scandal" - in which he was played by Ian McKellen - and the publication of Keeler's memoirs revived public interest in the affair. 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, Profumo was invited to work
Profumo affair attention was distracted by the re-emergence of Keeler, in Madrid. She expressed astonishment at the fuss her absence had caused, adding that her friendship with Profumo and his wife was entirely innocent and that she had many friends in important positions. She claimed that she had not deliberately missed the Edgecombe trial but had been confused about the date. She was required to forfeit her recognizance of £40, but no other action was taken against her. Shortly after Profumo's Commons statement, Ward appeared on Independent Television News, where he endorsed Profumo's version and dismissed all rumours and insinuations as "baseless".