Guido has been busy crunching some large taxpayer-shaped numbers this morning. After Clegg suggested Huhne should “pay amends” for his crime, by Guido’s calculation the bill comes to over £330,000.
Huhne took his MP’s salary for the year and a day after he quit as a minister, also pocketing a £17,000 severance payment. Using the average cost of recent by-elections, Eastleigh is estimated to have left the taxpayer with a £95,000 bill. The CPS say the cost of investigating and prosecuting Chris and Vicky reached £117,599, while the average national cost of imprisoning criminals puts Huhne and Pryce’s stay at Her Majesty’s pleasure at almost £40,000. A grand total of £333,472…