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| Constance Briscoe could face charges for role in Huhne speeding points case | Constance Briscoe could face charges for role in Huhne speeding points case |
| (30 days later) | |
| Constance Briscoe, a barrister and part-time judge, could face trial over her role in the speeding points case against former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce. | Constance Briscoe, a barrister and part-time judge, could face trial over her role in the speeding points case against former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce. |
| The criminal lawyer, who was arrested for allegedly lying to police over her dealings with the media and has been suspended from the judiciary, is under police investigation but has not been charged to date. She could face charges of perjury or perverting the course of justice. | The criminal lawyer, who was arrested for allegedly lying to police over her dealings with the media and has been suspended from the judiciary, is under police investigation but has not been charged to date. She could face charges of perjury or perverting the course of justice. |
| The part-time crown court recorder, who is one of Britain's most prominent black female judges and has appeared on BBC TV's Question Time, played a major – but absent – role in the trial of Pryce. | The part-time crown court recorder, who is one of Britain's most prominent black female judges and has appeared on BBC TV's Question Time, played a major – but absent – role in the trial of Pryce. |
| Jurors were told that Briscoe, 55, had been dropped as a "witness of truth" after making a statement saying she had not had any dealings with newspapers when emails appeared to show she had been in contact with the Mail on Sunday over the points-switch story. | Jurors were told that Briscoe, 55, had been dropped as a "witness of truth" after making a statement saying she had not had any dealings with newspapers when emails appeared to show she had been in contact with the Mail on Sunday over the points-switch story. |
| It was to Briscoe, a mother of two, that Pryce, a mother of five who lived three doors away in Clapham, south London, turned for help in her mission to destroy Huhne through the press. Their children knew each other and, by 2010, their friendship had strengthened as both women suffered broken relationships, the jury was told. | It was to Briscoe, a mother of two, that Pryce, a mother of five who lived three doors away in Clapham, south London, turned for help in her mission to destroy Huhne through the press. Their children knew each other and, by 2010, their friendship had strengthened as both women suffered broken relationships, the jury was told. |
| She and Pryce shared late-night chats "about each other's misfortunes", the court heard. While Huhne had left Pryce, Briscoe's partner of 12 years, Anthony Arlidge QC, then 76 – whose journalist son John is married to the BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders – left her for a 25-year-old trainee barrister. | She and Pryce shared late-night chats "about each other's misfortunes", the court heard. While Huhne had left Pryce, Briscoe's partner of 12 years, Anthony Arlidge QC, then 76 – whose journalist son John is married to the BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders – left her for a 25-year-old trainee barrister. |
| Briscoe was first approached by police about claims that she knew of the points-swapping in 2003, but she allegedly initially stonewalled officers seeking to check out these claims, after they had been reported in the Mail on Sunday. | Briscoe was first approached by police about claims that she knew of the points-swapping in 2003, but she allegedly initially stonewalled officers seeking to check out these claims, after they had been reported in the Mail on Sunday. |
| Later emails appeared to show that Briscoe had acted as adviser and intermediary in Pryce's dealings with the Mail on Sunday, the jury heard. | Later emails appeared to show that Briscoe had acted as adviser and intermediary in Pryce's dealings with the Mail on Sunday, the jury heard. |
| Andrew Edis QC, prosecutor, said the two women "appear to have cooked up a plan to go and see the press about Huhne taking the points". | Andrew Edis QC, prosecutor, said the two women "appear to have cooked up a plan to go and see the press about Huhne taking the points". |
| He said that, though the speeding points story was first published by the Sunday Times, the two women had previously "peddled a false story' to the Mail on Sunday that one of Huhne's constituency aides, Jo White, had been "bullied" by him into taking penalty points. It was untrue and wasn't published. White had no driving licence at the time, but Pryce said she believed it to be true as Huhne himself had told her. | He said that, though the speeding points story was first published by the Sunday Times, the two women had previously "peddled a false story' to the Mail on Sunday that one of Huhne's constituency aides, Jo White, had been "bullied" by him into taking penalty points. It was untrue and wasn't published. White had no driving licence at the time, but Pryce said she believed it to be true as Huhne himself had told her. |
| The jury was read emails in which Briscoe was said by Mail on Sunday journalists to be "determined to go for the kill" over the Huhne story. | The jury was read emails in which Briscoe was said by Mail on Sunday journalists to be "determined to go for the kill" over the Huhne story. |
| In one Andrew Alderson, a freelance journalist working for the Mail on Sunday, was said to have emailed Briscoe: "Do we have lift-off, ie a statement to the Mail on Sunday. If so, I suspect he [Huhne] will be an ex-minister by Sunday lunchtime." | In one Andrew Alderson, a freelance journalist working for the Mail on Sunday, was said to have emailed Briscoe: "Do we have lift-off, ie a statement to the Mail on Sunday. If so, I suspect he [Huhne] will be an ex-minister by Sunday lunchtime." |
| In another to David Dillon, news editor of the Mail on Sunday, about organising a meeting with Brisoce, Alderson wrote: "Constance is fabulous, (no dithering, no bullshit). There will be three people around the table all willing the project to come good." | In another to David Dillon, news editor of the Mail on Sunday, about organising a meeting with Brisoce, Alderson wrote: "Constance is fabulous, (no dithering, no bullshit). There will be three people around the table all willing the project to come good." |
| The two journalists also discussed taking the lawyer for "Farewell to Huhne" drinks if he resigned. "As we know Constance is quite partial to the odd glass or two," Alderson wrote. | The two journalists also discussed taking the lawyer for "Farewell to Huhne" drinks if he resigned. "As we know Constance is quite partial to the odd glass or two," Alderson wrote. |
| In yet another, said to be from Briscoe to Dillon, the lawyer explained that the "relevant person" had been bullied and pressurised. | In yet another, said to be from Briscoe to Dillon, the lawyer explained that the "relevant person" had been bullied and pressurised. |
| The email continued: "Finally, you will appreciate that I have no particular interest in this story save that I have been asked as an intermediary on behalf of the relevant person." | The email continued: "Finally, you will appreciate that I have no particular interest in this story save that I have been asked as an intermediary on behalf of the relevant person." |
| Briscoe, a graduate of Newcastle University and the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, has a high media profile. This was augmented further when her mother unsuccessfully sued her for libel over claims in the 2006 memoir "Ugly" that she had neglected her daughter, beaten her for bed-wetting, taunted her over her looks and once refused to buy her school photograph saying she was too ugly. | Briscoe, a graduate of Newcastle University and the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, has a high media profile. This was augmented further when her mother unsuccessfully sued her for libel over claims in the 2006 memoir "Ugly" that she had neglected her daughter, beaten her for bed-wetting, taunted her over her looks and once refused to buy her school photograph saying she was too ugly. |
| Briscoe, raised in a large family in south London and who has six siblings and four half-siblings, now awaits a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service over whether she will be charged in connection with the case. | Briscoe, raised in a large family in south London and who has six siblings and four half-siblings, now awaits a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service over whether she will be charged in connection with the case. |
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