Convicted of lying to police during Chris Huhne speeding points scandal
Prosecutors said she could pay if she sold half-share of a house in France
But the court heard how she also owed more than £150,000 in unpaid taxes
Constance Briscoe (pictured outside court today) has been spared a £90,000 legal bill - despite owning a holiday home in France
One of Britain’s first black female judges has been spared a £90,000 legal bill after a court heard she was too poor to pay it – despite owning a holiday home in France.
Constance Briscoe faces a demand for £89,246.33 over the costs of her trial after she was convicted of lying to police during the Chris Huhne speeding points scandal.
Prosecutors said she could pay if she sold her half-share of a £250,000 house in France, but said she also owed more than £150,000 in unpaid taxes.
She cannot work as a judge or a lawyer since her 2014 conviction for perverting the course of justice and has no income.
The 57-year-old is being supported financially by her adult children.
The Old Bailey heard that the house in the South of France was her only ‘substantial asset’ as she has already sold her London home to pay her defence costs.
Briscoe was Britain’s most prominent black woman judge and a neighbour to former Liberal Democrat minister Mr Huhne and his then-wife, economist Vicky Pryce, in Clapham, South West London.
Huhne and Pryce were both jailed in 2013 after it emerged that Huhne had asked Pryce to accept three speeding points so he could escape a driving ban.
Briscoe was due to be a key prosecution witness at their trial but was found to have lied to police about her part in the scandal and was jailed for 16 months last year following a retrial.
She was released in November after serving less than half her sentence but has been removed from the judiciary because of her conviction.
Briscoe sold her £650,000 flat in Clapham to her 26-year-old son to pay £159,000 in legal fees from her first trial and settle a £92,000 tax bill.
Briscoe still has outstanding VAT and income tax bills of £150,000 and they are accruing interest and late payment fees, the court heard
Disgraced Constance Briscoe jailed for 16 months last May
But she still has outstanding VAT and income tax bills of £150,000 and they are accruing interest and late payment fees, the court heard.
She owes £96,000 in income tax on her royalties from her bestselling ‘misery memoir’, Ugly. Briscoe also owes £49,000 in unpaid VAT and a further £9,000 in fees.
Friends said she co-owns the house in France with her former partner of 12 years, leading barrister Anthony Arlidge QC. The pair separated in 2010.
Judge Mr Justice Baker said: ‘Effectively her assets at the moment, including the house in France, are around £130,000 and her capital outgoings to the Revenue appear to be in excess of £150,000.’
Briscoe was Britain’s most prominent black woman judge and a neighbour to former Liberal Democrat minister Chris Huhne (left) and his then-wife, economist Vicky Pryce (right), in Clapham, South West London
The jury in her first trial last year was unable to reach a verdict and she was eligible for legal aid for her retrial. The Crown Prosecution Service sought £89,246.33 towards its costs of her first trial.
The judge said: ‘In principle, there’s no reason why she should not be ordered to pay. It is a question of whether it is just and reasonable to make such an order.’
After noting that Briscoe had very little income he added: ‘There is little or no purpose to be served by making orders for costs which are not, in reality, going to be able to be paid.’
Briscoe lost an attempt to appeal against her conviction last month.
DailyMail
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