The Sunday Times has been ordered to hand over a tape recording to police in which energy secretary Chris Huhne is seemingly implicated in a speeding offence by his estranged wife Vicky Pryce.
The newspaper yesterday reported (behind paywall) on how a court had forced it to give police a recording of a phone conversation between the pair in which they discuss allegations that Huhne had forced Pryce to take penalty points for his speeding offence.
Yesterday’s report said:
During the exchange, Pryce can be heard talking about her fears of a police inquiry if the claims became public. ‘It’s one of the things that worried me when I took them; when you made me take the points in the first instance,’she says.
Huhne, a challenger for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats in 2007, is heard urging her not to discuss the matter with journalists. He also warns her that it is not ‘sensible’to talk about it over the telephone.
The paper was forced to hand over the recording after a private hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court, but is considering whether to appeal the decision.
The claims against Huhne are currently being investigated by Essex Police
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