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| Vicky Pryce tells court she defied Chris Huhne over second abortion | Vicky Pryce tells court she defied Chris Huhne over second abortion |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Vicky Pryce, the economist and former wife of ex-cabinet minister Chris Huhne, has told a court that she defied him when he attempted to force her to have a second abortion, insisting on continuing the pregnancy. | |
| Pryce, 60, clutched tissues as she told a jury at Southwark crown court she was booked for a termination, but on the morning of the operation told Huhne, 58, she would not go through with it. She revealed on Thursday that Huhne had pressured her into an abortion when she fell pregnant accidentally in 1990, because it was "bad timing" financially and for his career. She has pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice by taking penalty points for Huhne in 2003, on the grounds of marital coercion. He has pleaded guilty to the charge and is awaiting sentence. | Pryce, 60, clutched tissues as she told a jury at Southwark crown court she was booked for a termination, but on the morning of the operation told Huhne, 58, she would not go through with it. She revealed on Thursday that Huhne had pressured her into an abortion when she fell pregnant accidentally in 1990, because it was "bad timing" financially and for his career. She has pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice by taking penalty points for Huhne in 2003, on the grounds of marital coercion. He has pleaded guilty to the charge and is awaiting sentence. |
| Questioned by Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, Pryce, visibly upset, was asked about the second planned termination in 1992. "On this occasion you stood your ground and had your child, didn't you?" | Questioned by Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, Pryce, visibly upset, was asked about the second planned termination in 1992. "On this occasion you stood your ground and had your child, didn't you?" |
| Pryce, a mother of five, replied: "The same argument ensued, it was all booked and I was meant to go that morning." But she told Huhne in bed that morning she would not go through with it. Edis said: "When you want to you are able to stand your ground." | Pryce, a mother of five, replied: "The same argument ensued, it was all booked and I was meant to go that morning." But she told Huhne in bed that morning she would not go through with it. Edis said: "When you want to you are able to stand your ground." |
| She replied: "Sometimes with difficulty. That was at the very, very last minute when it would be very, very, very difficult for anyone to tell me different. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was nevertheless brought to the brink." | She replied: "Sometimes with difficulty. That was at the very, very last minute when it would be very, very, very difficult for anyone to tell me different. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was nevertheless brought to the brink." |
| Admitting there were occasions she had stood up to Huhne, she said: "It's true, I can resist it and I have at times. We are different people at different times. Edis said Pryce went to the Sunday Times after first telling the Mail on Sunday about her mistaken belief a constituency aide had taken Huhne's points. It was a "dead duck" which the Mail on Sunday did not run, said Edis. Pryce was helped by friend Constance Briscoe, a lawyer and part-time judge, in her dealings with the Mail on Sunday, the court heard. | |
| Pryce was asked if she hoped the story would inflict "maximum and fatal damage'' on Huhne who had left her for public relations adviser Carina Trimingham. "If I really wanted to inflict fatal damage on him I would have done something very, very different," she said. She was "ashamed and upset" and "wanted to turn the clock back", after the article appeared. | Pryce was asked if she hoped the story would inflict "maximum and fatal damage'' on Huhne who had left her for public relations adviser Carina Trimingham. "If I really wanted to inflict fatal damage on him I would have done something very, very different," she said. She was "ashamed and upset" and "wanted to turn the clock back", after the article appeared. |
| She had told the jury Huhne demanded "pen in hand" that she sign the form as nominated driver to accept his points. | She had told the jury Huhne demanded "pen in hand" that she sign the form as nominated driver to accept his points. |
| Edis said Pryce had made "no comment" interviews to the police, and the first time these details had emerged was in court. The marital coercion defence required that "the husband is physically present,'' when the crime is committed, he said. Had she made it up, he asked her. "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 it," she replied. "You are a very experienced clever, powerful woman, aren't you?" said Edis. The idea of her having "no choice" was "preposterous, was it not?" | Edis said Pryce had made "no comment" interviews to the police, and the first time these details had emerged was in court. The marital coercion defence required that "the husband is physically present,'' when the crime is committed, he said. Had she made it up, he asked her. "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 it," she replied. "You are a very experienced clever, powerful woman, aren't you?" said Edis. The idea of her having "no choice" was "preposterous, was it not?" |
| "The reality is, Miss Pryce, of all the women who are pressured by their husband, you were in the best position to resist and do the right thing," he said. | "The reality is, Miss Pryce, of all the women who are pressured by their husband, you were in the best position to resist and do the right thing," he said. |
| She said: "I was in a terrible position." She was juggling children, and a demanding job and "I had so much on my plate". | She said: "I was in a terrible position." She was juggling children, and a demanding job and "I had so much on my plate". |
| Pryce, a senior civil servant who had held a £110,000-plus position at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills said she often had no choice, changing her jobs to suit his career. "My career was always on the back burner. I know I did well, maybe I'm brilliant in the end, I don't know, you were suggesting all sorts of things yesterday. Or I was lucky," she told Edis. | Pryce, a senior civil servant who had held a £110,000-plus position at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills said she often had no choice, changing her jobs to suit his career. "My career was always on the back burner. I know I did well, maybe I'm brilliant in the end, I don't know, you were suggesting all sorts of things yesterday. Or I was lucky," she told Edis. |
| She had made those choices "for the sake of my family", as she had done by taking the points. "Family comes first," she said. Edis said: "This whole catastrophe for your family has been caused by you putting the story in the newspaper." | She had made those choices "for the sake of my family", as she had done by taking the points. "Family comes first," she said. Edis said: "This whole catastrophe for your family has been caused by you putting the story in the newspaper." |
| Pryce said: "I am not proud of what happened. Now, of course, I would never have gone down that road. I did not behave rationally." She was "simply a vulnerable person at the time". | Pryce said: "I am not proud of what happened. Now, of course, I would never have gone down that road. I did not behave rationally." She was "simply a vulnerable person at the time". |
| Pryce said Huhne had "never physically threatened her". Edis asked her: "It cannot be, can it, that throughout the marriage he had been an overbearing bully?" She replied: "No, it cannot be and it was not. That is why I still cared for him." | Pryce said Huhne had "never physically threatened her". Edis asked her: "It cannot be, can it, that throughout the marriage he had been an overbearing bully?" She replied: "No, it cannot be and it was not. That is why I still cared for him." |
| The case continues. | The case continues. |
| The story so far | The story so far |
| Former Lib Dem cabinet minister Chris Huhne changed his plea to guilty on Monday at the start of what should have been a joint trial with his ex-wife Vicky Pryce over charges of perverting the course of justice. It was alleged she took penalty points from him for a speeding fine. The story emerged after the very public breakdown of their marriage. | Former Lib Dem cabinet minister Chris Huhne changed his plea to guilty on Monday at the start of what should have been a joint trial with his ex-wife Vicky Pryce over charges of perverting the course of justice. It was alleged she took penalty points from him for a speeding fine. The story emerged after the very public breakdown of their marriage. |
| Huhne's plea didn't come soon enough to prevent the release of a series of texts with his youngest son, Peter, laying bare the full impact on the family. "You are the most ghastly man I have ever known," Peter texted. | Huhne's plea didn't come soon enough to prevent the release of a series of texts with his youngest son, Peter, laying bare the full impact on the family. "You are the most ghastly man I have ever known," Peter texted. |
| The trial of Pryce, a high-ranking economist, started on Tuesday. Pryce denies perverting the course of justice and is claiming the little-used defence of marital coercion – saying Huhne forced her to say she was driving instead of him on the motorway between Stansted Airport and London. | The trial of Pryce, a high-ranking economist, started on Tuesday. Pryce denies perverting the course of justice and is claiming the little-used defence of marital coercion – saying Huhne forced her to say she was driving instead of him on the motorway between Stansted Airport and London. |
| The jury has heard claims she wanted to "nail" her husband after he walked out on her for another woman, telling both the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday Huhne had lied about who was driving in an attempt to escape a driving ban. | The jury has heard claims she wanted to "nail" her husband after he walked out on her for another woman, telling both the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday Huhne had lied about who was driving in an attempt to escape a driving ban. |
| But Pryce later told the court she "wanted to turn the clock back" when the story hit the headlines. The trial continues. | But Pryce later told the court she "wanted to turn the clock back" when the story hit the headlines. The trial continues. |
| David Feeney | David Feeney |