Pryce & Huhne Phone Call: When Prurience Goes Too Far

The phone call has been released for the same reason that Huhne's son's text messages were released. They were put forward as evidence against Huhne. Until he pled guilty there were kept confidential. Now that he has changed his tune, they are public record just like any other piece of evidence. The only other bar that could stop them being published by newspapers is that of the participants. They do have a veto as far as I can gather. That the phone call is now heard by millions is because Vicky or Chris or both did not stop it from happening.

"I almost felt dirty listening to them."

So, who forced you to do so?

Are you arguing for censorship, just because you haven't found the off switch?

That apart, you are spot on.

Iain, just a brief note to say there have been some commentators who have concentrated on the humanity of this whole sorry mess. It's no coincidence that many of you (yourself, Mark Reckons, Christian Wolmar among others) are among the writers I respect the most.

The whole thing is an absolute calamity but one's political colour doesn't come into it - Huhne has got himself into a horrible tangle that was completely avoidable. In some ways it reminds me of Nick Leeson - covering up a screw-up, and then just getting deeper and deeper in the mire until the whole thing unravelled.

That's a human failing, not a political one. Yes, the fact that he's (was) a politician means that he should be expected to have a higher sense of honour/morals than most. But this wasn't some rational, thought-through piece of deception; not a calculated strategy of lies a la Lance Armstrong. This was a piece of foolishness, a minor offence exacerbated by a gross error of judgement, and then a stubborn refusal to admit the truth when it all came back to haunt him. Who knows, had he admitted his lie in the first place when things surfaced a couple of years ago then maybe he'd have had some sort of career ahead of him.

But when all's said and done the guy has had his marriage, his career and now his entire life collapse around him. The last thing we need is for the whole world to see the sordid details of family tragedy. For the sake of his ex-wife and son as much as himself.

Sorry, but vehemently disagree with you there, Eoghan. The reason this is being aired on Sky is because this is the Huhne, not some obscurity we've never heard of. This is a guy who was trumpeting his fine family & marriage not so long ago, when he was standing for re-election. And his credentials for honesty & probity &... And who seems to show little remorse In due course he's no doubt be expecting to oil his way back into.public office in some form or other. It's a public duty to inform as much about the creep as possible.
For the son, one can feel sympathy. I read in the paper, his court certified liar of a wife is being tipped for a safe LibDem seat in '15. Same reason applies.

Oh come off it - this is evidence in a criminal trial. Two historical examples - the Michael Jackson trial tapes and the Hindley Brady tapes.

It may hurt the individuals involved but that is the price (no pub intended) of justice. If you want to live in a free society you have to sometimes put embarrassing things in the public domain for the greater good. At the end of the line Huhne is a millionaire ... a few months in prison isn't going to kill him.

I feel sorry for his children but there you are...

His wife's defence is that he is a bullying controlling man so the tapes are relevant to that. Justice doesn't need to just be done but to be seen to be done. We dont have cameras in courtrooms ...banning tapes would be taking it too far.

I didn't notice anyone moaning the Justin Lee Collins tape shouldn't have been played in public. Why not?

Answer: he's a pleb