Former Kettering MP '˜had affair with Nazi spy'

Mr Profumo, MP for the town from 1940 to 1945, met model Gisela Winegard in the 1930s before she went on to work for German intelligence in France. They reportedly and stayed in contact for at least 20 years.

The declassified files include claims by Ms Winegard’s husband that they had separated because he found ‘compromising’ letters to her from Mr Profumo.

Ms Winegard, believed to have engaged in blackmail by the authorities, also had a UK visa application rejected.

In it, she named “Jack Profumo MP for South Cattering” as a reference.

The files show that officials were told about Ms Winegard by Mr Profumo in 1941 – a year into his spell as MP for Kettering.

A memo shows he admitted he “got to know her well” but was aware of the opinion that she could be a spy.

The memo reported: “She was always hard up. Later she went on to become a mannequin and made a large number of useful contacts.

“Lady Astor is alleged to have expressed the opinion that she was a spy.”

Almost 20 years later, when he was no longer Kettering’s MP, Mr Profumo was forced to resign in 1963.

Claims were made that he participated in sex parties and that he shared a mistress, Christine Keeler, with a Soviet defence worker.

He quit politics before dying in 2006 aged 91.