Vicky Pryce is guilty

[UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea]

Yes, apparently Huhne had past form of passing over points to people in the office so VP might have thought well this won't get to court, just in the press so no one will need to know I was the one forced to take the points.

2010 "Huhne owns seven houses?five purchased as investments on which he makes money as rental properties and two in which he lives (one in Eastleigh, his former constituency, and a town house in Clapham, South London). His wealth is estimated as £3.5 million."

I wonder if they got 1.75m each on the divorce?

That headline makes it clear that her vengefulness was what she was on trial for. It is apparent that a woman seeking to argue marital coercion would have to be pretty much the Virgin Mary in order to convince a jury.

The language of that article is very interesting. So are some of the details included.

Her Greekness, fiery, charming [blahblah] is something the author saw fit to mention a few times -- what bearing does that have on anything?

The qualities that are mentioned as her strengths are qualities that are not traditionally assigned to women and guaranteed to polarise opinion about her. Her 'womanliness' is definitely in question in this article. Not only is she not really very womanly, she is forrin..

Despite having five children Miss Pryce did not take her eye of the ball where her career was concerned, only taking off six weeks each time she gave birth, according to colleagues. With her lucrative career still in the ascendancy, Miss Pryce was very much the main breadwinner allowing her husband the freedom to twice stand unsuccessfully for a Westminster seat for the SDP. The financial freedom her career offered the family also allowed Huhne to set up his own business called Sovereign Ratings that calculated the risk of investing in foreign companies.
Nor it seems did Huhne take time off to devote to the babies or young children, but heyho. This detail is mentioned only because she is a woman. It is a remark guaranteed to incite judgement of her as a woman either for or more likely against given prevalent culture.

Xenia - apparently she got the Clapham house.

This explains a lot:

Pryce said she started plotting against her husband after claiming that the Huhne circle was trashing her reputation following her appearance at the September 2010 Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool.

She said Huhne was "clearly lying to get a better" divorce settlement, the emails seen by the jury showed.

Pryce said that her husband was only able to build a property portfolio of ex-council houses to rent out because of her earning power and cheap shares from his father and hinted that she was "uncovering" things about his finances.

Apparently Carina Trimingham is now studying for a law degree!

Yes it's funny that "with her lucrative career still in the ascendancy" is presented as a not altogether positive feature.

I'm quite shocked she has ended up with an 8 month jail sentence at the end of all this - which started off after all as agreeing to take the points which her husband had already assigned to her (since he completed first form)
I really haven't followed it all that closely (but you can't help absorbing a certain amount by osmosis in current climate) but I think there's something not right here. And like others I feel very sorry for the children, I hope they're old enough and strong enough to cope with it all.

Huhne bought and rent out ex-council houses? This just gets better and better.

By the way I've asked MNHQ to look at a couple of my posts above and err on the side of caution, given that there may be another court case in the near future.

rents sorry

Trashing her reputation after the divorce is not manipulative? Or vengeful? Or any of the other things she has been accused of?

Or is all fair in love and war when a man does it but there is a code of conduct for women?

I think most women know that if they behave in ways many men do they are castigated for it. I've even been accused on line of being a man simply because I have certainly human characteristics people don't seem to think women ever want (power, ambition, money, success). There are a lot of double standards around.

It is just as relevant as to whether Huhne were around to change nappies as his wife but papers never mention that. He was the one swanning off to be an MEP leaving her holding the fort at home which many feminists would not accept in a marriage. Plenty of men (and women ) don't take work abroad because it leaves an unfair burden on their spouse. That did not matter to Huhne.

yes, that link shows the unfairness of any mansion tax - that if you house your children you get taxed. If instead you piss your money up the wall or spend it on bisexual lovers or have 25 small houses or £100 in cash you aren't subject to the tax whereas if you have a so called mansion with children sharing rooms with more debt than equity in the house you would pay the £30k a year or whatever is proposed.

I suppose they must have had a clean break divorce which is all finalised and she got the house and he the other properties. They are probably worth similar amounts.

Xenia, to be honest you do my nut in sometimes but I have never thought you were a man!

I have rather enjoyed reading your posts on this thread.

The language thing is still so crap, isn't it? Even Trimingham's judgement over privacy - which I agreed with on balance - was uncomfortably brimming with Justice Tugendhat's snide little quips and censorious language that a man just wouldn't have had directed at him.

"Trashing her reputation after the divorce is not manipulative? Or vengeful? Or any of the other things she has been accused of?

Or is all fair in love and war when a man does it but there is a code of conduct for women?"

Exactly - Mathanxiety

What I hate in the press is statements that women should protect the children by in effect lying to them about misconduct of their father. I think that is just said by men to hide their misdeeds. The truth is better and most children have a pretty good idea who is in the wrong or not.

May be Huhne will have children with his lover. He is just about old enough to be her father and she might not quite be too old to have children.

I read that Independent story olgaga linked to open-mouthed.

If it's true, the only person who comes out halfway sensible is Huhne.

Doesn't alter the fact that I think he's a shit and Pryce was justified in feeling angry.

I cannot believe that people involved in this have been so stupid.

And I think that a person so lacking in judgement should be removed from a position where she sits in judgement of other people.

I posted this separately from the other comment because I don't want the whole thing to get deleted.

"The truth is better"...so a boy discovers his father wanted him to be aborted. Some truths are better hidden,and most mothers would not have made that public for any reason.She should have protected her child from that particular "truth".

I'm generally a fan of the truth because it's simplest. That sometimes hasn't made me popular but I still find it the easiest way to live my life.

But even a blunt instrument like me can understand that sometimes it's best not to play it out in the papers and the courts.

Those 2 will be ok.
It's the children who will be permenently scarred by this.
I sincerely hope that they are being offered help/counselling of some sort.

I'm surprised that the proposed abortion aspect wasn't subject of reporting restrictions / discussed in chambers

Huhne claimed in his most recent media interview that he wanted to stop Pryce going to prison. Surely he could have given evidence that he did actually put pressure on his wife, assisting her defence, if he was genuinely concerned about that?

Haven't read every single inch of newsprint on this story, but I'm sure I saw somewhere that it was Huhne's lawyers who put the texts from his son into evidence. Does anyone know if that's the case?

VP used vile, homophobic language about Trimingham, referred to her as a man (listen to the tapes). Can hardly blame Trimingham for not wanting her near her.

CH is of course just as nasty and devious as her, much much cleverer though in how to manipulate media and PR.

Not that clever.

I saw part of the C4 interview and wanted to punch him. He is remorseless.

limitedperiod: "I think that a person so lacking in judgement should be removed from a position where she sits in judgement of other people."

Yup. I think we're probably OK if we don't name the person. Well, maybe! Anyway, I agree. The more I read about this case the more it astonishes me that people who are supposed to be cleverer than the rest of us show less sense than the average 11-year old.

Huhne claimed in his most recent media interview that he wanted to stop Pryce going to prison. Surely he could have given evidence that he did actually put pressure on his wife, assisting her defence, if he was genuinely concerned about that?

Quite.

According to reports I have read the mobile phones containing the texts to the son were seized after a tip-off to the police from Constance Briscoe.

The whole saga is a sad, sorry mess.

The only real deterrent achieved by these sentences is to ensure that in future, when couples do share points, they are both aware that they both have to keep quiet about it!

*to the son should have been with the son.

Constance Briscoe's involvement is a matter of public knowledge! She is currently suspended as a member of the judiciary pending the outcome of the investigation into her involvement in this case.

I'm not criticising you olgaga.

I'm glad you linked to that report.

Women can say too much. If you look at how much women write on line compared with men it is much more although I suppose someone will now show me that most mumsnet husbands write a lot more on line than their wives. It can be a good thing as our skills can be just what is needed in so many jobs, but when it results in lots of emails which can get into the public domain and talking to the press it can backfire.

The old sayings least said soonest mended etc are often wise. It rarely pays to talk to the press about these matters. However for VP seeing her husband's political career over and the public knowing how he is in return for 4 months inside most in an open prison and then resuming a career after and retaining the love of five children might be a price well worth paying. She may be pleased.

I think the CB allegation was about alleged lying - saying not in touch with the papers when she was.

Huhne's claims to be helping everyone, trying to keep his wife out of prison etc just seem to come over as very twisted and manipulative. If he wanted to help his family he should have kept his penis in his trousers until he'd divorced his wife. Let us hope he doesn't do an Aitken and find God in prison.