Regina v Christopher Huhne and Vasiliki Pryce[n 1] is the prosecution of the former British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP, and his former wife, Vicky Pryce, the former Head of the Government Economic Service, for perverting the course of justice, contrary to common law.

On 12 May 2010 he was appointed to the cabinet office of Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition formed following the 2010 general election.

[2] In May 2011, Pryce stated that she was aware that Huhne had "pressured people to take his driving licence penalty points".

[3] Labour MP Simon Danczuk made a criminal complaint to Essex Police in respect of the allegations.

[citation needed] A decision whether to institute proceedings for the alleged offences was delayed for eight months while The Sunday Times made an application for judicial review of an order of the Crown Court at Chelmsford that the Crown Prosecution Service had obtained, which obliged the newspaper to disclose e-mails between Pryce and its political editor, Isabel Oakeshott,[6] in which the case was discussed.

[citation needed] In December 2011, newspapers reported that Essex Police had recommended to the CPS that both Huhne and Pryce be prosecuted for the alleged offences.

[citation needed] On 3 February 2012, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC announced that there was sufficient evidence to bring charges against Huhne and Pryce.

[8] The charge against Huhne was that:[9] Between 21 March 2003 and 21 May 2003, [he] ... intended to pervert the course of public justice, by doing an act in that he, during the course of an investigation into an offence of driving a vehicle in excess speed, ... submitted information to the investigation officer that Vicky Pryce had been the driver, enabling her to admit responsibility for the offence and causing her licence to be endorsed with three penalty points.The charge against Pryce was that:[9] Between 12 March 2003 and 21 May 2003, [she] ... intended to pervert the course of justice by committing an act during the course of an investigation into an offence of driving a vehicle in excess speed, [in which she] submitted information to the investigating authorities that ... [she was] the driver of the vehicle, causing ... [her] licence to be endorsed with three penalty points.On 2 March 2012, Mr Justice Saunders scheduled a trial for two weeks in October 2012, and extended the defendants' unconditional bail until a plea and case management hearing, which was held on 1 June 2012 at the Crown Court at Southwark before Mr Justice Saunders.

[11] A series of hearings during the week beginning 1 October 2012 took place at the Crown Court at Southwark before Mr Justice Sweeney.

[14] On 28 January 2013, Huhne's applications to dismiss the charges against him for lack of evidence and to stay the indictment as an abuse of the process of the court were refused by Mr Justice Sweeney, who ruled that there was a case to answer.

[9][18][19] At the hearing on 4 February 2013 at the Crown Court at Southwark, Huhne pleaded guilty on re-arraignment, and subsequently announced that he would resign as an MP by taking the appointment of the Chiltern Hundreds.

of Vicky Pryce it was revealed that barrister and part-time recorder Constance Briscoe had been arrested in relation to statements she had made to police that she had not had any involvement with the leaking of the driving licence points-swapping story.