Huhne and Pryce go to jail for duplicity over speeding points

FORMER Cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce were each jailed for eight months at Southwark Crown Court for perverting the course of justice over speeding points a decade ago.
Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce arrive at court todayChris Huhne and Vicky Pryce arrive at court today
Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce arrive at court today

Former Cabinet minister Huhne arrived at Southwark Crown Court with partner Carina Trimingham, who he left Pryce for in June 2010, while Pryce was presented with a red rose as she arrived.

Both Huhne, 58, and economist Pryce have been warned by Mr Justice Sweeney to be under no illusion about what punishment they face when they are sentenced at 2pm.

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The former couple were greeted by hordes of photographers and TV cameras as they arrived at court today ahead of the sentencing.

Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce arrive at court todayChris Huhne and Vicky Pryce arrive at court today
Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce arrive at court today

Pryce was found guilty last week of perverting the course of justice by taking speeding points for then-husband Huhne in 2003.

The former energy secretary pleaded guilty on the first day of a planned joint trial last month, ending months of public denials.

Perverting the course of justice carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with an average sentence of around 10 months.

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Huhne is also facing a hefty legal bill after the CPS announced plans to recoup the costs of his “sustained challenges” against the prosecution.

The case has brought an end to Huhne’s once-promising political career.

The offence dates back a decade to 2003 when Pryce took speeding points for her then-husband.

She tried to claim Huhne forced her into taking the points, using a defence of marital coercion, but she was convicted last week after a retrial.

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Pryce’s high-profile case exposed more details about the couple’s break-up in June 2010, when Huhne left her for PR adviser Ms Trimingham.

Mother-of-five Pryce, who pursued a press campaign to “nail” Huhne, told jurors that during their 26-year marriage he prioritised his career over hers, even demanding twice that she had an abortion.

The trial also sparked questions about how much senior Lib Dems knew about the points-swapping story before it appeared in the press in May 2011.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Business Secretary Vince Cable were forced to deny suggestions in emails from Pryce to Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott that they knew about the scandal before it became public.

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Mr Cable repeated denials that he knew anything today, telling the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “The whole story is unbelievably sad - two very talented people who have done themselves great damage and their family is wrecked. That’s the real tragedy of all this.”

Despite the impact of his prosecution on the party, Huhne was lavished with praise at the weekend’s Lib Dem spring conference.

Mr Clegg described him as an “effective” and “outstanding” politician, while party doyenne Baroness Shirley Williams hailed his “brilliant” performance in government, describing his downfall and that of Pryce as a “domestic tragedy”.

Huhne and Pryce will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court at 2pm.