Chris Huhne changes plea to guilty

[NicholasTeakozy]

BBC link here. I reckon that's the end of his political career then.

this morning the news is that the coercion will only apply if she had "no choice" - which will be interesting to hear......

also, regarding him in prison, as is the case with all these types (Aitken, Archer etc), compared to most of the UK prison population he will be polite, reasonable, biddable because he is a well brought-up intelligent person (supposedly) Of course he will be released early for good behaviour - he's hardly going to be banging his tin cup on the radiators and starting a riot is he

His son's emails make me want to cry, poor lad. His father is a moral vacuum personified.

I think Vicky has, from her POV, "made her point".

I do wonder what her motivation and thinking is now he's plead guilty.

tiggy I mean that he hasn't said, outside court, to my knowledge, that he is a guilty man and that he has done something wrong.

Call me cynical, but a politician of his ilk could still manage to imply that 'I pleaded guilty' means 'I took the blame to ease the lives the others.'

yy there is a world of difference between 'pleading guilty' and actually owning up to the responsibility for it. He's yet to do that.

I'd think he hasn't done that yet possibly, as his legal team will be setting out mitigating factors prior to sentence and they will not wish him to queer their pitch.

I want to guess wildly at the mitigating factors.

Stress of the job
Stress of marriage
Stress of family life
Stress of politics
Having to be perfect for the media
Not wanting to let people down
Being a knob

I would readily accept a defence of "Your Honour, I couldn't help it, because I am a knob" over something like the stress of family life

I'd guess all of those will be trotted out LR. The barrister will also avoid your strike out consideration.

I think the Honest Knob Defence has merit.

From the Independent account of todays trial so far:

'A journalist for the Sunday Times encouraged her (Pryce) to tell her story over two weeks in the newspaper. The journalist, political editor Isobel Oakeshott said: ?I think you could make yourself out to be very much the honourable one saying it has been on your conscience? you knew it was wrong but you were bullied into it? that would make you sound pretty good.?

Another reminder to never put incriminating things in emails or allow people to send you them. In the event the stupid cow insists you reply: 'I don't know what you're talking about, mad woman I've never met.'

I think it is very suitable a result for his adultery and how he treated his family.
Even in the text exchange he almost implies he did it to spare the boy's mother. He thought of that before he had a secret affair with his lover whilst married.

Whether his wife succeeds on "marital coercion" remains to be seen.

I don't think the published e-mail exchange between the wife and the journalist paint her in a very good light.

I'm not saying I'm entirely on Vicky Prices side, but for a man to coerce/force his wife to take the points for him, then leave her for another woman, shows what an utter twunt he is.

And having looked at before/after pics of Vicky, she looks better now than she did when she was with him. The woman he left her for looks like something than ran at the Doncaster races...
I think its the usual thing, isn't it? One rule for us and one rule for politians. IMO, they all pee in the same pot, don't trust any of 'em.

anyfucker: "I think he will go to prison for perjury not getting his wife to take a few penalty points"

I think the exact charge is perverting the course of justice, which he did by getting his wife to take the penalty points. This is the same charge that Vicky Pryce is facing.

hack sorry, yes, you are correct. Apologies for that x

No problem any:-)

Am dying to comment on the Vicky Pryce trial but I suppose we can't really say anything until it's all over. But it's proving good entertainment so far.

Why can't you comment, hackmum? Oh g'waaan.

I'm glad it's not just me that's looking forward to the entertainment. I feel Vicky could be a bit histrionic.

Obviously I'm a keen student of our wonderful English legal process too

We can say that there is a massive difference between marital coercion and revenge, but one may have led to another.

Does sub-judice only exist until the trail actually starts? Poss?

It's on BBC News now.

Pick me! Pick me! I'll comment. It appears that Oakeshott encouraged Pryce to reveal an alleged criminal act and gave advice on how to make herself look good and entrap Huhne.

And she stuck it in an email in which she noted that Pryce may be laying herself open. Fucking hell. Have these women not heard of a quiet chat over a coffee?

Maybe, limited but that doesn't provide the crucial evidence whether she was coerced or not. Just possibly why she blew the gaffe.
We could also speculate on what the prosecution will argue, after this scene-setting.

Well the prosecution has laid it out: did she have a choice?

I wonder if she will suggest that he implied the marriage might be at risk if she didn't help him. Given that he did eventually leave her, it would resonate. She could say that she was always 'on her toes' trying to keep the marriage going. I don't think she has to demonstrate that he actually forced her, just that she felt she had no choice within the marriage.