Ed Howker

A question for Chris Huhne

You know a political campaign has gone terribly wrong when a Cabinet Minister threatens defamation proceedings against the Prime Minister. And that is precisely what happened this weekend, when Energy Secretary Chris Huhne began snarling in the Sunday papers. Stating that the Tory claim that the AV electoral system would cost more was “demonstrably untrue,” Huhne said:

“It is frankly worrying if you have colleagues, who you have respected and who you have worked well with, who are making claims which have no foundation in truth whatsoever. If they don’t come clean on this I am sure the law courts will.”

He then proceeded to name Cameron, Osborne and — inexplicably — William Hague, who has taken a back seat on the referendum, as men who have spread wicked falsehoods about electoral reform.

This row dates back to a piece that we

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