Chris Huhne

Who is Chris Huhne?

Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne is a British journalist and former politician who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Eastleigh from 2005 to 2013 and the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2010 to 2012. He currently writes a weekly column for The Guardian.

On 3 February 2012, Huhne resigned from the Cabinet when he was charged with perverting the course of justice over a 2003 speeding case. His then wife had said that she was in the car at the time and thus accepted the licence penalty points on his behalf. Chris Huhne denied the charge until the trial began on 4 February 2013, when he changed his plea to guilty, resigned as a member of parliament and left the Privy Council. He was sentenced to eight months in prison at Southwark Crown Court, along with his former wife Vicky Pryce for the same offence, on 11 March. He served 62 days of his sentence at HMP Leyhill before he was released.

Huhne had twice stood unsuccessfully for election as Leader of the Liberal Democrats; in 2006 he came second to Sir Menzies Campbell and in 2007 he narrowly lost to Nick Clegg.