27 Jul 2011

Chris Huhne speeding allegations passed on by police

Essex police hand a file to the Crown Prosecution Service containing details of allegations relating to Energy Secretary Chris Huhne.

Police pass on file containing allegations about Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne (Reuters)

Chris Huhne‘s former wife Vicky Pryce claimed in a newspaper interview in May that the Eastleigh MP had tried to pass on his points to her in order to avoid losing his driving licence.

The speeding offence is alleged to have taken place in 2003 when the former MEP was driving home from Stansted Airport. Mr Huhne has vigorously denied the allegations. After the allegations emerged, Downing Street said the Coalition minister had Mr Cameron’s “full confidence”.

A police spokesman confirmed a file had been given to the Crown Prosecution Service, which must now decide whether any charges should be brought against the MP.

The CPS said the file – which relates to both Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce – would be assessed by a lawyer who would then decide whether charges should be brought. A spokeswoman said she could not say how long the process would take as it would depend on how much information was in the file. “We may ask the police for more information or seek advice from counsel,” she added.

Ms Pryce, a Greek-born economist, filed for divorce last year after Mr Huhne admitted having an affair with his aide Carina Trimingham.

News the file had been passed to the CPS came as the energy secretary was cleared of wrongdoing over his election expenses after an investigation by the Electoral Commission. It looked into the issue after complaints Mr Huhne under-reported the amount spent on his campaign. The Commission said there were only “minor discrepancies” in his expense returns.

It found the cost of his campaign website was £45.15 rather than the £35 reported, but said that still left him within the spending limits. It also found that a decision to allocate around £5,400 to the national Liberal Democrat campaign, rather than to Mr Huhne’s personal campaign for the Eastleigh seat, was “reasonable” and within the guidelines.

The Lib Dems have been asked to review their own procedure, after the party failed to declare the cash donated by Mr Huhne. He was also warned to take more care with his campaign literature after the Commission found some letters did not accurately state the name of the printer, as required.

Mr Huhne said he welcomed the findings: “The Electoral Commission is very clear that the campaign was properly within the legal limits, as I always maintained, and I am delighted that we have such a clear conclusion to this investigation.”