In July 1964, the Sunday Mirror ran a front-page story headlined: PEER AND A GANGSTER: YARD ENQUIRY. While the article withheld the names of the subjects, the newspaper reported that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police had ordered an investigation into an alleged homosexual relationship between 'a household name' from the House of Lords and a leading figure in the London underworld. Lord Boothby was the Conservative lord in question, and Ronnie Kray the infamous gangster. Yet within a couple of weeks the story had been killed off, vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared. Lord Boothby and the Krays carried on with business as usual. For the first time the full saga of the cover-up and its consequences can be revealed. Drawing upon recently released MI5 files, government papers, extensive interviews, and a wide array of contemporary reports and secondary sources, Daniel Smith pieces together how eminent figures from the political firmament, the Security Service, the Metropolitan Police, the legal profession and the media saw to it that the Sunday Mirror's story was crushed almost as soon as it emerged.

About the Author
Daniel Smith is the originator and writer of ten books in the biographical How to Think Like... series for Michael O'Mara, which have been translated into twenty languages and sold around 500,000 copies. His works of narrative non-fiction include The Spade as Mighty as the Sword: The Story of World War Two's 'Dig for Victory' Campaign (Aurum Press, 2011) and The Ardlamont Mystery: The Real-Life Story Behind the Creation of Sherlock Holmes (Michael O'Mara Books, 2018).

Reviews
In detailing the cover-up and its repercussions, Smith has drawn on many new and original sources. He usefully places it in the context of the Vassall and Profumo affairs, which had already catastrophically undermined public confidence in the establishment and made everyone involved determined to avoid another political scandal. His book is both lively and engrossing, and provides the clearest and most comprehensive account yet of this extraordinary saga. -- Peter Parker
A revelatory and often hilarious tale of sex, class and manipulation. -- Alexander Larman * The Observer *
Daniel Smith tells the story of Boothby, the Krays and Goodman in a rollicking tone that carries conviction and reads well. -- Richard Davenport-Hines * The Times *
Daniel Smith explores the conspiracy of silence surrounding Sir Robert Boothby. ... A sensational item or allegation on every page. -- Roger Lewis * The Daily Mail *



Book Information
ISBN 9780750993296
Author Daniel Smith
Format Hardback
Imprint The History Press Ltd
Publisher The History Press Ltd