Energy secretary Chris Huhne has announced he is to quit his post after learning that he will face a charge of perverting the course of justice over a speeding charge first brought to the courts in 2003.
His now ex-wife Vasiliki Pryce faces the same charge, after it was alleged that she may accepted speeding penalty points on his behalf, as he already had points on his licence and may have faced a driving ban.
Huhne, the Lib-Dem MP for Eastleigh is expected to protest his innocence before the courts but announced that he will stand down to ‘avoid distraction’. Business Minister Ed Davey is expected to be his replacement in the cabinet, according to the BBC News.
Essex Police have been investigating claims against Mr Huhne since a complaint was first made in May 2011, passing the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the following July.
A statement on the CPS website says there is ‘sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce for perverting the course of justice’, adding; ‘the essence of the charges is that between March and May 2003, Mr Huhne, having allegedly committed a speeding offence, falsely informed the investigating authorities that Ms Pryce had been the driver of the vehicle in question, and she falsely accepted that she was the driver.’
The pair are now due to appear in Westminster magistrates court on 16 February this year.
Many will mourn the departure of Huhne, who was widely believed to have been popular with greens and whose role in the Government was one of the most senior held by a Liberal Democrat.
Margaret Ounsley, head of public affairs at wildlife and conservation charity, WWF-UK, said: "Chris Huhne understood the very complex issue of climate change, and fought his corner long and hard within the government to ensure that core policies, such as the fourth carbon budget, were delivered, against the nay-saying of the Treasury.
“His negotiating skills in Cancun were also key in helping to get the climate change talks back on track after Copenhagen. Whoever succeeds him will have some tough battles ahead of them in order to ensure that the ambition of the Climate Change Act is delivered."
