Profumo affair Party was marked by the scandal, which may have contributed to its defeat by the Labour Party in the 1964 general election. When the Profumo–Keeler affair was first revealed, public interest was heightened by reports that Keeler may have been simultaneously involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, thereby creating a possible security risk. Keeler knew both Profumo and Ivanov through her friendship with Stephen Ward, an osteopath and socialite who had taken her under his wing. The exposure of the affair generated rumours of other scandals, and drew official attention to the activities of Ward, who was
Profumo affair husband of a famous film star and was prepared to have "a bit of fun" with him. William Shepherd, an MP trusted by MI5, insisted that over the years he often saw Profumo at louche nightspots, including Murray's Cabaret Club during the time that Keeler had worked there, which made it certain that Profumo knew Keeler before the Cliveden party. Shepherd suggested that Profumo was the original owner of the gun used in the shooting incident (see below). The next afternoon the two parties reconvened at the pool, joined by Ivanov, who had arrived that morning. There followed what Lord