It could only happen in the UK. This is after all a country where parliamentarians have lost positions and jobs for what would be considered laughably trivial offences in India. So it was only befitting that a former minister and his ex-wife are now set to go to jail because he broke a “speeding” rule 10 years ago and she helped him to conceal it by saying that she was at the driving wheel.

It is a case that has riveted the nation because both Chris Huhne, the former climate change minister, and his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce, a well-known economist, were high-flyers. Huhne is a Liberal Democrat and till recently was considered a frontrunner. His problems about these speeding points began after he left the Greek-born Ms Pryce for his media adviser, Carina Trimingham, and suddenly allegations about his decade-old “speeding misdemeanour” were flying about. The suspicion, voiced by the media, was that Ms Pryce had broken her silence over his “speeding points” to take her revenge on Mr Huhne for walking out on her. But things took a very serious turn when the police decided to jump into the marital spat and registered a case against Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce for perverting the course of
justice.
Mr Huhne pleaded guilty to the charges and quit from the government, but Ms Pryce took refuge behind the argument of “marital coercion”, saying that she had been forced into accepting her husband’s suggestion that she take his speeding points, as he would have otherwise lost his licence over the offence.
Unfortunately, the prosecutor did not agree and neither did the jury. It seems that the latter were persuaded by the prosecutor’s argument that Ms Pryce had revealed the story of the illegal act only to take revenge on
Mr Huhne after he left her for Ms Trimingham.
But revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold.
Did Ms Pryce actually make a mistake by seeking revenge (if that was her intention) all too soon? Should she have waited and stuck the boot in, at a later date? She, too, has many well-wishers, and we are among them. One hopes that she does not have to actually go to jail, as she has been punished enough with all this media fracas.
However, the UK police probably would not agree as they say that millions use this ruse of passing on their speeding points onto someone else. Now that they have a high-profile case, which has resulted in conviction, it will send a strong message to other offenders. Somehow I don’t think the police in India would dare to nab a Cabinet minister for concealing his (or her) “speeding points” when they can’t even catch them for concealing their wealth!
Meanwhile, as International Women’s Day is celebrated all over the world, it has a special poignancy for us as in many countries (including the UK) where the case of the 23-year-old girl from Delhi is being discussed at all kinds of forums. In fact, these days, whenever one discusses India, I find no one speaks of the economy, any more, all that they want to know is what happened to her. And, of course, here her name has been printed in the media, and recently (despite the uproar in Indian Parliament over having revealed the names of the three minor girls in the Bhandara case) the photographs and names of the three girls were also published.
The question is why the Indian government will not take cognisance of the fact that at least in the Delhi braveheart’s case it now appears pointless concealing her identity any more, especially when the whole world has access to her photographs and her real name and the family appears to have given permission to use both in media reports, published here. The concealment is leading to all kinds of disinformation, including the conjecture that it was a caste-based attack, or that she belonged to a minority community. Rather than allow these baseless stories to circulate, India should reveal her real name and let us honour her memory as a “real” human being and not a symbol.

The real obsession in the UK is now the royal baby “bump”. After Kate Middleton is supposed to have given the game away in a public walkabout that her child might be a daughter, a blizzard of ecstatic stories have appeared about what the child could be called, what she would be like and even, what lies ahead for her. Fortunately, the recent change in the laws here means that if the firstborn is a daughter she has an automatic right to be queen, over her brothers. So, folks, be prepared for endless royal baby talk throughout the summer. This nation, which otherwise appears so pragmatic, is now definitely going gaga over its date with the baby princess, especially after its success with the royal wedding and the queen’s diamond jubilee. Undoubtedly London will be painted pink in celebration and perhaps even the economy will be finally kicked out of recession by the royal birth and the optimism and hope that every child brings.
As usual, Ms Middleton has taken to maternity with complete perfection. Apart from gaining a slight amount of weight, and perhaps a hint of plumper arms and face, she is still looking as radiant as she has always done. I have to say I get completely exhausted by the royal fixation here, but we have little choice in the coming months, pregnant with possibilities.