Disgraced former minister Chris Huhne lands energy job paying £100,000 for just two days a week

  • Former Energy Secretary employed by Zilkha Biomass Energy for £100,000
  • New job comes just three months after end of prison sentence for perverting the course of justice
PUBLISHED: 03:08, 10 August 2013 | UPDATED: 03:08, 10 August 2013
Chris Huhne has landed a high-profile job with an energy company three months after leaving prison.
The former Energy Secretary is expected to earn around £100,000 a year despite working only two days a week for an American company.
Mr Huhne, 59, and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce were both jailed for eight months in March for perverting the course of justice after he admitted passing speeding points to her.
Cashing in: Chris Huhne has secured a new job advising an energy firm for £100,000 a year
Cashing in: Chris Huhne has secured a new job advising an energy firm for £100,000 a year
They were both freed and later fitted with electronic tags after serving just two months of their sentences.
A profile on the website of his new employer, Zilkha Biomass Energy, describes Mr Huhne as ‘one of the pioneers in calling for political action to deal with global warming’.
 

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But it makes no mention of his conviction, instead focusing on his political roles and work as an ‘award-winning journalist’.
Mr Huhne has been given the job as the company’s European chairman despite leaving his post as Lib Dem Energy Secretary only last year, and potentially having a detailed knowledge of sensitive Government dealings.
However, 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 him to take the role.
Ex-wife: Vicky Pryce was jailed alongside her estranged husband for perverting the course of justice
Ex-wife: Vicky Pryce was jailed alongside her estranged husband for perverting the course of justice
The committee is reported to have said that Mr Huhne had ‘not been involved in the development of policy, award of grants or regulatory work that might have impacted on ZBE’.
A spokesman told The Sun that the ex-Cabinet minister ‘was not aware of any contractual relationship between his former department and ZBE and had no access to commercially sensitive information about any competitors’.
After his release from HMP Leyhill, an open prison in Gloucestershire, Mr Huhne returned to his £1.2million home in Clerkenwell, London, where he lives with his partner Carina Trimingham.
He said after his release: ‘I would just like to say once again, as you know from the night I was sentenced, I said that I was very sorry for what I had done.
‘It has been a humbling and sobering experience. I would like to thank all of those who have written to me – hundreds of letters that I have had – and all my family and friends who stood by me.
‘And I would also just remind you that I have served only part of my sentence and therefore it is not appropriate to say more. I would now like to get on, get back to home, and continue with my life.’
Jonathan Aitken, another former minister who has spent time behind bars, said Mr Huhne found prison ‘fascinating’.