Huhne wife begins divorce proceedings

London: Chris Huhne faces losing half his multi-million pound fortune after his wife began divorce proceedings over his affair with a bisexual woman.

Vicky Pryce yesterday described her ‘tremendous shock' after the Energy Secretary left her for his mistress.

The Lib Dem MP was accused of hypocrisy when his relationship with crop-haired Carina Trimingham emerged weeks after he presented himself as a family man during the general election campaign.

Pryce, 57, his wife of 26 years and mother of his three children, has instructed lawyers to end their marriage on the grounds of his ‘admitted adultery'.

London-based solicitors Osbornes said in a statement on her behalf: "The events of the past week have come as a tremendous shock to both Miss Pryce and her family." Huhne, 55, an Oxford-educated former journalist and economist, made a small fortune in the City before entering politics.

He is one of Parliament's wealthiest MPs, worth an estimated £3.5million (Dh19.3 million) and with a property portfolio of seven homes.

The MP for Eastleigh used his Hampshire constituency home for trysts with his 44-year-old mistress — his former press officer — who has split from her own lesbian partner.

Given the length of their marriage, Pryce may be entitled to half of his assets.

During the 2007 Lib Dem leadership contest which he lost to Nick Clegg, Huhne's considerable property empire earned him the nickname ‘Nine Homes Huhne'.

Asked about his homes in one interview, he said: "I don't, I have investments, actually and not nine, it's seven.

Portfolio

"I have investments in five homes for rent, which is basically my pension fund from my time in the City; and we have two homes we actually use, which is one in Eastleigh and one in London."

The Huhne portfolio consists of a £1.5 million townhouse in Clapham, the £500,000 constituency home and the rental properties a house and two flats in London and a house and a flat in Oxford.

He also part-owns a house in France, and his Greek-born wife has a house in Greece.

Campaign leaflets during the election campaign featured pictures of Huhne with his wife above statements including: "Family matters to me so much where would we be without them?"

He was forced to come clean about his affair when he was confronted by Sunday newspapers last month after spending the night with his mistress in the constituency home. His wife was in London with their children.

Huhne immediately announced that he was leaving his wife and was in "a serious relationship" with Trimingham.