Downfall of shamed Cabinet
Minister and vengeful ex-wife

DISGRACED MP Chris Huhne and his former wife Vicky Pryce have each been jailed for eight months in a spectacular fall from grace a decade to the day since the speeding offence that led to their convictions.
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

The former Cabinet Minister was told he had fallen from a “great height” as he and his economist ex-wife were sentenced for perverting the course of justice. The jail term, given to them at Southwark Crown Court in London, is the culmination of a decade-long drama after Pryce took three speeding points for her then-husband in 2003.

The 60-year-old mother-of-five was convicted after a retrial last week, while Huhne, 58, pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial last month – a U-turn that followed months of denials and failed attempts to get the case thrown out.

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The former Energy Secretary, who once had hopes of the Liberal Democrat leadership, has become the first former Cabinet Minister since Jonathan Aitken to be jailed.

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

The former couple, who hit the headlines with their messy split in 2010, showed no emotion as they sat just feet from each other in the dock in the packed courtroom, which included Huhne’s father, and his partner Carina Trimingham. Jailing them, Mr Justice Sweeney told Huhne he had fallen from a “great height” and Pryce from a “considerable” one.

“To the extent that anything good has come out of this whole process, it is that now, finally, you have both been brought to justice for your joint offence,” he said. “Any element of tragedy is entirely your own fault.”

After the court hearing, Prime Minister David Cameron claimed Huhne’s downfall was a reminder that “no one, however high or mighty, is out of the reach of the justice system”. Huhne’s conviction was described as a “personal tragedy” by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who said he hoped the man who challenged him for the Lib Dem leadership in 2007 and his former wife would be given “time and space to rebuild their lives” once they have completed their eight-month sentences.

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In an interview hours before his sentence, Huhne admitted he had repeatedly lied and said he felt “awful that people I love have been dragged into this gruelling experience”.

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

The court heard that both Huhne and his ex-wife had given valuable public service. But the prosecution unmasked Pryce’s attempts to “manipulate and control the Press” to bring Huhne down, Mr Justice Sweeney said, adding she had shown a “controlling, manipulative and devious side”.

He told the disgraced politician: “You have fallen from a great height, albeit that that is only modest mitigation given that it is a height that you would never have achieved if you had not hidden your commission of such a serious offence in the first place.”

The judge said Huhne’s lies and attempts at manipulating the legal process had not added to his sentence, nor had the way Pryce – who adopted a defence of marital coercion – conducted her case, but may be relevant when it comes to determining costs. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is trying to recoup £117,558 for the prosecution of the former couple - £79,015 for Huhne and £38,544 for Pryce – plus an extra £31,000 from Huhne for his attempts to get the case thrown out.

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Huhne and Pryce, who are thought to be in Holloway and Wandsworth, will wake up behind bars exactly a decade since Huhne’s black BMW was clocked speeding on the M11. With nine points already on his licence, he faced a ban so Pryce took the points.

The offence remained unknown for years until Pryce – seeking revenge after Huhne left her for Ms Trimingham in June 2010 – used the offence to bring him down. She pursued a lengthy Press campaign to “nail” the father of her children, approaching the Mail on Sunday and then The Sunday Times.

The story was published on May 8, 2011, and despite trying to hide her own involvement, Pryce was revealed as the person who took the points. The scandal sparked a police investigation and the former couple were charged last February, forcing Huhne to resign as Energy Secretary.

Comment: Page 12.