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| Vicky Pryce cross-examined over Chris Huhne marital coercion claims | Vicky Pryce cross-examined over Chris Huhne marital coercion claims |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Vicky Pryce was "ashamed and upset" and "wanted to turn the clock back" after an article alleging Chris Huhne had asked someone to take his speeding points was published, a court heart. | Vicky Pryce was "ashamed and upset" and "wanted to turn the clock back" after an article alleging Chris Huhne had asked someone to take his speeding points was published, a court heart. |
| Pryce, who had herself told Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott of the 2003 incident, felt "exposed" and believed "things had probably been pushed too far" when she read the article. | Pryce, who had herself told Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott of the 2003 incident, felt "exposed" and believed "things had probably been pushed too far" when she read the article. |
| She felt she had lost control of the story and had been manipulated by the paper, and "went into hiding from the Sunday Times," she told a jury at Southwark crown court. | She felt she had lost control of the story and had been manipulated by the paper, and "went into hiding from the Sunday Times," she told a jury at Southwark crown court. |
| Pryce, 60, an economist, denies perverting the course of justice by taking her husband's penalty points after his speeding offence 10 years ago, on the ground of marital coercion. Former cabinet minister Huhne has pleaded guilty to the charge. | |
| Cross-examined by Andrew Edis QC, she denied her motive in giving the story was to ruin her husband. "If I had wanted to ruin my husband at the time I could have thought of lots of other things I could have exposed publicly, not something that could have repercussions for myself." | |
| Edis asked her: "You are a very experienced, clever, powerful woman, are you not?" | Edis asked her: "You are a very experienced, clever, powerful woman, are you not?" |
| She replied: "I wouldn't call myself powerful." | She replied: "I wouldn't call myself powerful." |
| She said that for her "family comes first", and that this was the case in 2003 when she was forced to take the points. But, said Edis, "this whole catastrophe for your family has been caused by you putting the story in the newspaper". | |
| Pryce replied: "I am not proud of what happened. Now of course I would never have gone down that road. I did not behave rationally, there's no doubt about that." She said she was "simply a vulnerable person at the time". | |
| She denied that the claim she had no choice in taking Huhne's points was "preposterous", saying she had been presented with "a fait accompli". When asked why she had not answered any police questions during her interviews, she replied that it was on her lawyer's advice. | |
| Edis said the fact that she gave "no comment" interviews meant that the first time she had given details of Huhne standing at the hallway table "pen in hand" and forcing her to sign, was in court. The defence of marital coercion "only applied if the husband is physically present". Had she made it up, he asked. | |
| Pryce replied: "In fact it is one of my strongest memories of this whole sad affair, him standing at the hallway table with loads of papers around and the form, and being made to sign. So I'm afraid it's true." | Pryce replied: "In fact it is one of my strongest memories of this whole sad affair, him standing at the hallway table with loads of papers around and the form, and being made to sign. So I'm afraid it's true." |