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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Huhne: Speeding story was 'payback' for criticism of Murdoch press | Huhne: Speeding story was 'payback' for criticism of Murdoch press |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Former MP Chris Huhne, who was jailed for lying about a driving offence, has claimed the newspaper investigation which led to his downfall was "payback" for his stance towards Rupert Murdoch. | Former MP Chris Huhne, who was jailed for lying about a driving offence, has claimed the newspaper investigation which led to his downfall was "payback" for his stance towards Rupert Murdoch. |
| He told the BBC it was no coincidence that the story appeared in the Sunday Times after he had called for police to reopen its phone hacking probe. | He told the BBC it was no coincidence that the story appeared in the Sunday Times after he had called for police to reopen its phone hacking probe. |
| While accepting he was "fair game", he spoke of an "agenda" behind the story. | |
| The newspaper said the ex-minister's arguments were "bizarre". | |
| The Sunday Times' editor Martin Ivens said the newspaper "had pursued a legitimate story of considerable public interest". | |
| Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce were convicted of perverting the course of justice in February after she took speeding points for him. They both served two months of an eight-month sentence in jail before being released in May. | Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce were convicted of perverting the course of justice in February after she took speeding points for him. They both served two months of an eight-month sentence in jail before being released in May. |
| Huhne, who is now writing a weekly column for the Guardian newspaper, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he took responsibility for his mistakes and was contrite for doing things which were "clearly wrong". | Huhne, who is now writing a weekly column for the Guardian newspaper, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he took responsibility for his mistakes and was contrite for doing things which were "clearly wrong". |
| But he suggested he had a "rather unique vantage point" to make a wider point about the power of the media. | But he suggested he had a "rather unique vantage point" to make a wider point about the power of the media. |
| He claimed the 2011 Sunday Times story which prompted the police to open an investigation into claims that he had dodged speeding points when he was an MEP in 2003 was not "straight journalism" and was motivated by other factors. | He claimed the 2011 Sunday Times story which prompted the police to open an investigation into claims that he had dodged speeding points when he was an MEP in 2003 was not "straight journalism" and was motivated by other factors. |
| 'Clear implications' | 'Clear implications' |
| He said journalists within News International, the company which published the Sunday Times and the News of the World, were aware before the 2010 election about the breakdown of his marriage - which led to allegations about the speeding offence emerging - but "sat on the story" until it suited their proprietor's commercial and political interests. | |
| "The way this was specifically done was a very clear payback for the fact, as a former journalist, I was not able to resist going public on how the police should re-open the investigation into voicemail hacking and the Murdoch press. | "The way this was specifically done was a very clear payback for the fact, as a former journalist, I was not able to resist going public on how the police should re-open the investigation into voicemail hacking and the Murdoch press. |
| "I was the only frontbencher to do that. Maybe it was coincidence but it was just at that time that not only did the News of the World voicemail-hack me but put a full time investigator onto tailing me. | "I was the only frontbencher to do that. Maybe it was coincidence but it was just at that time that not only did the News of the World voicemail-hack me but put a full time investigator onto tailing me. |
| "The very clear implication here by the coincidence of when the investigation starts, the fact that the story is not run until substantially later suggests there is another agenda. | "The very clear implication here by the coincidence of when the investigation starts, the fact that the story is not run until substantially later suggests there is another agenda. |
| "It is not straight journalism. It is about the Murdoch press using the power it has has to pursue Rupert Murdoch's own business interests." | "It is not straight journalism. It is about the Murdoch press using the power it has has to pursue Rupert Murdoch's own business interests." |
| 'Political influence' | |
| Huhne, who worked for the Guardian and the Independent before going into politics, was also critical of News Corp's attempt to buy the remaining shares of BSkyB that it did not already own in 2011 - a bid which was subsequently dropped. | Huhne, who worked for the Guardian and the Independent before going into politics, was also critical of News Corp's attempt to buy the remaining shares of BSkyB that it did not already own in 2011 - a bid which was subsequently dropped. |
| "Over many, many years, he (Rupert Murdoch) has played the person rather than the issue and he has used that political influence to bulldoze away for his business interests," he added. | "Over many, many years, he (Rupert Murdoch) has played the person rather than the issue and he has used that political influence to bulldoze away for his business interests," he added. |
| "Every time he has used his political power to get something he wants for the business, he has become more powerful and difficult to resist." | "Every time he has used his political power to get something he wants for the business, he has become more powerful and difficult to resist." |
| Mr Huhne quit the Cabinet after being charged in 2011 but continued to protest his innocence until the first day of his trial when he changed his plea and admitted his guilt. He then stood down as an MP. | Mr Huhne quit the Cabinet after being charged in 2011 but continued to protest his innocence until the first day of his trial when he changed his plea and admitted his guilt. He then stood down as an MP. |