John Lewis was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 politician.

Lewis was elected as Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for the two-seat constituency of Bolton

Bolton (UK Parliament constituency)

Bolton was a borough constituency centred on the town of Bolton in the county of Lancashire. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons for the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system....

 at the 1945 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1945

The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...

. The constituency was divided in a boundary review for the 1950 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1950

The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...

, when he was returned as MP for the new Bolton West

Bolton West (UK Parliament constituency)

Bolton West is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

 constituency.

At the 1951 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1951

The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...

 he lost his seat to the Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 candidate Arthur Holt.

Privilege hearing

In July 1951, Lewis reported to the House of Commons Committee of Privileges to respond to charges he tried to use Parliamentary privilege

Parliamentary privilege

Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...

 to escape charges that he drove into a policeman on his way to Parliament. Statements from witnesses said the MP, who was late for a division hit the traffic officer three times.

The committee concluded that privilege for an MP was not "above the ordinary restraints of law which apply to fellow citizens. They do not discharge the member from obligations to society, which apply to him as much and perhaps more closely in that capacity as they apply to other subjects of The Crown

The Crown

The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...

."

Role in Profumo scandal

Lewis had borne a deep grudge against society osteopath Stephen Ward (Christine Keeler's landlord), ever since Ward had introduced one of Lewis's girlfriends to a lesbian contact, who lured her away from him. On Christmas Eve 1962, Keeler was feeling angry about some small issue with Ward, and visited a Baker Street nightclub, just for someone to talk to. By the purest chance, she met Lewis, and poured out the whole story of Profumo and the Soviet diplomat Ivanov. Lewis was overjoyed at this opportunity to get Ward named as a national security risk, and also twist the facts to make it look as though he was living off immoral earnings. In partnership with George Wigg, who had a score to settle with Profumo, Lewis kept the rumour-mill going until Ward was eventually arrested. When Ward committed suicide in mid-trial, Lewis celebrated with Champagne.

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