Chris Huhne hired as manager of energy firm

The government’s former energy and climate change cabinet secretary has been working as the European manager of Zilkha Biomass Energy since July, according to the firm’s website. He was jailed in March for eight months along with his ex-wife Vicki Pryce for swapping speeding penalty points so he could avoid a driving ban, but the pair were released in May when they were both fitted with electronic tags. The sustainable energy company says on its website that Huhne is tasked with “the remit of growing the business in the European Union”. A profile on the website of his new employer says of him: “He was one of the pioneers in calling for political action to deal with global warming…” It does not mention his conviction, instead focusing on his political roles and work as an “award-winning journalist”. Huhne’s new role is reported to be earning him £100,000 a year. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, a public body that considers applications for new jobs from former ministers, is believed to have given permission for the role. The former MP resigned from the Cabinet when charged with perverting the course of justice, and later quit as a Liberal Democrat MP and privy councillor. The point-swapping, from a decade ago, emerged when Pryce approached newspapers after Huhne left her for another woman. Meanwhile last month Pryce had her honour for government service revoked by the Queen. An announcement published in the London Gazette read: “The Queen has directed that the appointment of Vicky, Mrs Pryce, to be a Member of the Civil Division of the Third Class, or Companion, of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, dated June 13 2009, shall be cancelled and annulled and her name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order.”