James Forsyth James Forsyth

The Huhne story returns

The news that the Crown Prosecution Service has asked Essex Police to make further inquiries into the whole allegation that Chris Huhne asked his then wife to take speeding points for him in 2003 is a political embarrassment for the Energy and Climate Change Secretary. Huhne has always denied these allegations and nothing has been proved against him but the whole process is hardly reputation enhancing. (But it is worth noting that the CPS’s decision suggests that they currently don’t think there’s enough evidence to lay charges against anyone. Equally, they haven’t thrown the whole file out).

Huhne’s troubles are also causing a certain amount of coalition friction. Tories moan that if Huhne was one of them, he’d have to resign by now–and they are probably right. This is adding to a general sense on the Tory benches that there’s one rule for the Liberal Democrats and another, stricter one for them.

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