Huhne, Pryce sentenced on Monday

Disgraced MP Chris Huhne and his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce, will be sentenced on Monday, the British Crown Prosecution Service said today.

The former couple are both facing jail terms at the hearing at Southwark Crown Court at 2pm.

Pryce was found guilty by a jury yesterday of perverting the course of justice by taking speeding points for Huhne in 2003. The former energy secretary had already pleaded guilty to the charge.

Perverting the course of justice carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, although the average sentence is around 10 months.

Both 58-year-old Huhne and economist Pryce (60) have been warned to be under no illusion about what punishment they face.

The fallout from the high-profile case continued today as Nick Clegg denied that any senior Lib Dem figures knew about the points-swapping story before it appeared in the press in May 2011.

Emails between Pryce and Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott, revealed to the jury during the high-profile trial, suggested that figures including business secretary Vince Cable and deputy prime minister Mr Clegg knew about the scandal before it became public.

Mr Clegg’s office said today that it had checked with all party figures named in the Pryce emails and established that none of them was told about the speeding points before the story appeared in the press.

The party was not aware of any Lib Dem peers who knew about the points, a spokesman added.

The spokesman said: “Vicky Pryce did not talk to anyone in Nick Clegg’s office about the speeding points. The first Nick knew of the Vicky Pryce speeding points allegations was from the media.”

In statements yesterday, Mr Clegg’s wife Miriam said: “I have never ever been told by Vicky or anybody else about the traffic points story. I got to know about this when everybody else did.”

A spokesman for Vince Cable said: “Vince and Rachel have no recollection of the issue of points being raised with them over the course of dinner with Vicky Pryce on January 28th 2011.

“They have consulted their personal records, which confirm that the issue first came to their attention in May 2011 when the story broke in the press.”

Pryce first told Ms Oakeshott she had taken points for her ex-husband over a lunch in March 2011 and the pair exchanged emails discussing how best to “nail” Huhne.

In an email to Ms Oakeshott on April 9th, Pryce wrote: “Actually I had told Vince and Rachel about points before when the three of us were having supper about a month ago - they were horrified at the time but VC has probably forgotten it by now. He was v tired that night.”

In a message on April 26th, Ms Oakeshott asked the economist: “Can I say that a number of CH’s ‘allies’, including Cable, are aware of the situation? To what extent is Clegg aware that something is hanging over Huhne? (you mentioned it to Miriam, didn’t you?).”

Later that day, Pryce replied: “Yes, I have told VC, MiriamC, MOak...and a few other Lib Dem Lords and others working close to NC.”