Oundle & District u3a Monthly Meeting
John Vassell: Sex, Spies and Scandal
Alex Grant’s book Sex, Spies and Scandal: The John Vassall Affair (Biteback, 2024), is an acclaimed biography of a 1960s spy which sheds new light on an important part of British political and LGBT history. The affair was also a landmark in media history: the first modern tabloid witch-hunt and the last time that reporters were sent to jail for not revealing their sources. Alex will talk about this now near-forgotten scandal and copies of his book will be available for sale.
Alex Grant is a writer, researcher and lecturer specialising in politics, biography and modern history. A former journalist, he was a Labour councillor in Greenwich for 16 years and has worked in parliament. He and his family have lived in the Nene Valley since 2014, and in Oundle since 2022.