He resigned from his ministerial office, parliamentary seat and membership in the Privy Council. Profumo denied any impropriety in a statement to the House of Commons but a few weeks later admitted his affair. Profumo ended his relationship with Keeler, which remained largely unsuspected until early in 1963, when the disintegration of Keeler's private life brought matters to public and press attention. The matter became complicated when, through Ward, Ivanov met Keeler, raising the possibility of a Profumo–Keeler–Ivanov triangle. Ward's friendship with the Soviet military attaché Yevgeny Ivanov, known by MI5 to be an intelligence officer, drew him to the attention of British intelligence, who sought to use him in an attempt to secure Ivanov's defection. Most of their assignations took place in Ward's home in Wimpole Mews. Profumo, who was married to the actress Valerie Hobson, embarked on a brief affair with Keeler. Among these was Lord Astor, at whose country house, Cliveden, in the summer of 1961, Ward introduced Profumo to a 19-year-old showgirl and night-club model, Christine Keeler. His practice and his art brought considerable social success, and he made many important friends. In his spare time he also studied at the Slade School and developed a talent for sketching portraits which provided a profitable sideline. In 1945, Ward began practising osteopathy in London, and rapidly became quite prominent and fashionable, with many distinguished clients. Stephen Thomas Ward (19 October 1912 – 3 August 1963) was an English osteopath and artist who was one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British political scandal which brought about the resignation of John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War, and contributed to the defeat of the Conservative government a year later.