Judge was 'prepared to lie' to police

A prominent barrister and part-time judge "was prepared to lie" to police about her role in a scandal that led to the jailing of a former cabinet minister and his ex-wife, a court has heard.

Constance Briscoe, one of the first black women to become a part-time judge, is on trial facing three counts of perverting the course of justice. She denies any wrongdoing.

Ms Briscoe's prosecution relates to the case of Chris Huhne, the disgraced former energy minister and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce, a senior economist and friend of Ms Briscoe.

Mr Huhne and his ex-wife Ms Pryce were both jailed for eight months in March 2013 for perverting the course of justice, after Ms Pryce took speeding points for her husband a decade earlier. The conviction ended Mr Huhne's political career and he resigned as an MP.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday heard that Ms Briscoe, a friend of Ms Pryce, had been due to be called as a prosecution witness at Ms Pryce's trial last year.

Prosecutor Bobbie Cheema QC alleged that Ms Briscoe had made two signed witness statements but the Crown decided in October 2012 that Ms Briscoe was not a "reliable, truthful witness" in Vicky Pryce's trial because the statements "turned out to be inaccurate and misleading in important respects".

Ms Cheema also claimed to the jury that Ms Briscoe presented herself as "objective" and "independent" rather than "someone who was engaging with the media" and was "quite intent on Mr Huhne's downfall herself".

Ms Cheema told the jury that Ms Briscoe helped Vicky Pryce provide information to two newspapers about Mr Huhne asking his wife to take his speeding points.

Ms Briscoe said in her first witness statement to police that Ms Pryce discussed the speeding point incident with her at the time in 2003, prosecutors told the jury.

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However Mr Huhne's lawyers "didn't trust" Ms Briscoe and asked a judge to make a production order asking the newspapers to hand over emails in their possession from Ms Pryce, the court heard.

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Prosecutors allege that two statements Ms Briscoe provided to police were "inaccurate" and "misleading" about the barrister's relationship with Ms Pryce and her own relationship with journalists.

"The prosecution's case against her . . . is that she intentionally misled the investigation, as much by what she didn't say as by what she did say, and that she thereby committed the three offences." Ms Cheema told the jury.

Ms Cheema told the jury that the charges against Ms Briscoe, a practising criminal barrister who has sat as a part-time judge were "extremely serious" because the criminal justice system relies on witnesses giving "honest" evidence and "on lawyers having the utmost integrity in all their dealings".

Ms Cheema alleged that Ms Briscoe, despite being a practising criminal barrister with dozens of years of experience, "was prepared to lie to the police" and "present an entirely false picture" of herself, of her relationship with Ms Pryce and her relationship with journalists.

Ms Briscoe denies the charges.

The trial, which is expected to last two or three weeks, continues.

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