to feel sorry for Vengeful Vicky? The Price was too high...

[Corygal]

Honestly. Huhne actually did the crime. She was just trying to out the brute. Fine reward for being a grass, the police are always saying they protect you if you do - yep.

Deeply misogynist, to boot. A sharp slap to the uppity wife who had the cheek to ask to be treated like a human being - now she's called a harridan, a witch, and, of course, overemotional 'blinded by rage and grief' acc the judge.

Women are usually dealt with disproportionately harshly by the courts in this country, from speeding fines to assaults to other crimes. You can pretty much take a man's sentence for the same crime and add a bit more on to punish a woman further for not being society's idea of how a woman should behave.

let's ignore why they are court in the first place

No, they were in court because they jointly decided to lie to the police about who was driving the car. She could have chosen not to go along with that lie, but she didn't.

The irony is that they'd both have got away with it if she hadn't been so keen to punish him. She has got what she wanted, and he has got what he deserved. I hope she thinks it was worth it.

She has pretty effectively turned all her kids against their father. Maybe he deserved it,but it's not good for them.Far worse was her publicly announcing that there was a discussion about aborting their son. The boy should never have known that,and most mothers would have kept that secret at all costs. Instead she used it as a revenge tactic,and to strengthen her case. Indefensible.

As seabright said perverting the course of justice (which they had an equal hand in) is a serious offence. The severity of the underlying offence (speeding in this case) isn't a massive factor in the courts' view I don't think. The point is that you have people effectively sticking two fingers up at the whole justice system which as a matter of public policy will always get stamped on hard.

I haven't read the judge's comments but would think remarks about vindictiveness etc. are probably a reflection on the fact that she portrayed herself as having been coerced but her decision to come clean was conveniently timed when she had an axe to grind. Not very plausible.

Agree comments about Trimingham (including from la Price) have been awful although why anyone would want to be with an arrogant and over-entitled piece of work like Huhne is beyond me.

The kids bit is upsetting. I remember phoning my dad up at work to tell him I'd got into Cambridge because it was too important and exciting to wait until he got home. The text where Huhne asked if there was any news from Oxford (which the son ignored) and the later text congratulating him (where the son told him to f. Off) made me sad.

The whole thing was sordid from beginning to end though. I wonder if the relationship with Trimingham will last. He has seriously fallen since she hooked up with him.

I agree the judge's comments re Pryce seemed very harsh and more of a personal attack than anything he said about Huhne. Hard not to read at least some misogyny in them.

Hell mend the pair of them. As others have said, she didn't tell all because of a fit of conscience, it was to land him in it. Stupid woman didn't stop to think she was totally complicit in it

The DCs have probably turned against their father just as much because they see all over the papers that he is now in a relationship with a bi-sexual former employee whom their mother was friendly to, and is frequently pictured with her.

Of course if Pryce had been a drug dealing career criminal who had lied to the police and then turned grass, she would have got off possibly more lightly.

Simply because it involves a marriage, a woman and a politician in the public eye, she has ended up in jail.

Part of me applauds Vicky Pryce for not being the meek well behaved little woman, suffering in silence.

I am not convinced she's as clever as all the articles are making out. She put her malicious intent in writing to a journalist. That is so foolish as to be unbelievable.

That said, I don't see the point in putting them in prison. I think Vicky Pryce is not the only one with vindictive intent in all this.

I think you have to allow someone a bit of leeway when they are underoing such personal and emotional trauma. People often act out of character/unwisely.

So much criticism of Vicky Pryce on this thread, hardly any of Chris Huhne.

I feel more sorry for the poor kids caught up in all this mess tbh.

They will be out in less than 3 months anyway.

Well it is a thread specifically about Vicky Pryce, so I suspect that's why.

FWIW, I think they both behaved appallingly. I wouldn't take the points for someone else because it's wrong. He shouldn't have asked her to because it's wrong. I've no doubt that at the time he put pressure on her to take them because of the ramifications for him, but she accepted them.

The sentences are equal because he pleaded guilty and she didn't.

Rightly or wrongly, I think those in government should face the toughest sentences when found guilty of wrong doing, largely because they are the ones responsible for writing and agreeing on the laws in the first place! You can't want to be involved in running the country if you aren't going to abide by the rules of that country. At least, in this country you can't (expenses fraud aside . And that's the way it should be.

She didn't do it because she felt guilty and wanted to come clean, she did it to try and get him into trouble, as revenge, and was hoisted with her own petard.

They both got what was coming to them - they knew what they were doing and tried to manipulate the law to their benefit. They may not be a danger to society, they may be cluttering up a prison but actually they broke the law and must take the consequences.

speeding is NOT a victimless crime - ask anyone who has been run over by someone who thinks the law doesn't apply to them.

he's a repeat motoring offender (and he was the ENVIRONMENT minister FFS) and she colluded in it. She is educated and empowered and should not have committed her crime.

serves them both right.

I think the judge was sexist. He made special mention of her being vengeful. It is not a crime to want revenge. The crime was the points thing.

I do think the sentence is too harsh especially when you hear of repeat offenders such as burglars avoiding a prison sentence

Imaginethat

The other crime was perverting the course of justice.
Wanting revenge may not be a crime but acting out that revenge often is.

The whole thing is tragic.
Huhne is a dangerous driver by the sounds of things (he was eventually banned a few months after the points swap for talking on his phone whilst driving). His statement yesterday, describing his breaking the law as trivial matter, does not take into account the potential results of his actions.
Pryce was clearly complicit in the deception, although I would suggest that an unscrupulous journalist took adavantage of her turmoil and that is how this came to light. Pryce spilled the beans over dinner with the journalist, probably the worse for wear and egged on by a journo looking to exploit her upset. Noone has come out of this with any credit.

at the risk of being repetitive this trial was not about speeding but perverting the the course of justice

This has been considered a serious crime for thousands of years ( note it is the 10th commandment about not giving false witness)

specialsubject if anything at all untoward happens as a result of you speeding you are not actually charged with speeding but dangerous or reckless driving or death by dangerous driving; if you are charged with speeding although you broke the law you need to pay fine but it does imply that there was no victim on this occasion

speeding is not good but the courts do not consider going faster than the speed limit on road when no -one was in any way hurt as being as serious as perjury

I think it's all a huge waste of public funds to sent them to prison.
My understanding is that he could have actually got off with a lesser sentence than her because he actually pleaded guilty.

Am interested ElBurro as to why you state the journalist was unscrupulous? She was approached by Pryce after Pryce had tried to sell her story to other newspapers. I certainly don't think she was trying to exploit her upset - I believe that she knew 100% what she was doing, where her downfall lay is that she didn't take proper and correct legal advice, as the journalist states - journalists aren't there to give legal advice.

HJ, From what I understand, a few days after Huhne had told her about his affair and the split she bumped into the journalist at an LD event. Pryce was clearly in a state of emotional distress, so the journalist suggested going for a meal. A few vinos later and with a seemingly sympathetic shoulder to cry on and the cat is out of the bag. Once Pryce had spilled her guts to a journalist, this story would have come out one way or another, I am sure of that.

If you can't do the time.........she was bitter and twisted wanting to seek revenge and I feel, stay in the limelight - oh poor me - women are cheated on and abused every day of the week and never have a voice - she lost all sense when she had to bring him down believing that everyone would just feel nothing but sympathy for her being the cheated on wife - had she have handled the whole thing with abit more dignity then she would have my sympathy - and if the story had come out not via her then I would admire that even after he lefther she still kept his secret for him - but she didn't. Perhaps if she'd warned him of her plan she could have forced him to stay in a relationship he wasn't happy in ?? I've read that she's still in love with him - (a) funny way og showing it and (b) good god why????

ElBurro the relationship between Pryce and Oakeshott went on for a lot longer than one tipsy meal.

I'm a journalist. If only I had the power to bend others to my will that people seem to think we have. I'd be a lot richer.

It was not a victimless crime. In her initial attempt to fit up Huhne without implicating herself, she first suggested to the journalist that a completely innocent Party colleague of Huhne's was the one who took the points, then she tried to imply it was Carina Trimingham. Fortunately the woman who was first named didn't have a driving licence so was quickly and easily able to refute the allegation, but imagine if she did? Who would have believed her? Pryce was quite happy to drag other innocent people into her horrible schemes.

Elburro, I love the implications one makes to emotional women spilling their guts after a few vino's! Terrible assumption.
As somwhere suggests, personally feel it was more a woman on a mission to seek revenge.
Limitedperiod, exactly, what makes everyone state that Ms Oakeshott got it out of her by wine and will to get a story.