Chris Huhne under pressure to reject £17,000 payoff

CHRIS Huhne, the former energy secretary, will get a £17,000 payoff after leaving the Cabinet to fight criminal charges of perverting the course of justice.

Ministers are entitled to severance pay equivalent to three months of their ministerial salary when they leave the Government. However, the money is not paid to them automatically, but must be claimed by the MP in question.

Mr Huhne has come under pressure from opponents not to claim the tax-free payment, after becoming the first government minister in living memory to be forced out of office by a criminal prosecution.

But the Cabinet Office said: “We can confirm that, following his resignation from the Cabinet, Chris Huhne will receive a severance payment of three months of his ministerial salary.”

Before his resignation on 3 February, Mr Huhne received annual ministerial pay of £68,827 on top of his £65,738 salary as MP for Eastleigh.

He denies perverting the course of justice by asking his then wife to take speeding penalty points onto her driving licence. Mr Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce are due to appear at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.