Chris Huhne's wife Vicky Pryce is a powerful woman who told 'bare-faced lies,' jury told Chris Huhne 'deliberately dulled' his ex-wife suspicions of his affair by introducing his mistress Carina Trimingham as a lesbian Carina Trimingham had been in a civil partnership with a woman By Chris Greenwood Describing Vicky Pryce as a "quivering jelly" bullied into taking speeding points for her Cabinet minister husband Chris Huhne was "to stop living in the real world," it was claimed yesterday. She was in fact a "powerful, intelligent woman" and her claims that she was coerced by Huhne into perverting the course of justice were "bare-faced lies," Southwark Crown Court heard. As her trial drew to its close, prosecutor Andrew Edis QC accused the economist of being a "manipulative and deceitful" woman who conjured up a "stage-managed performance" for the court. 'Utterly humiliated': Vicky Pryce, the former wife of ex-MP Chris Huhne arrived at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, where the court heard details of Huhne's affair By contrast, Pryce's defence counsel Julian Knowles QC presented her as a loyal wife who had been humiliated by her husband's affair with his assistant, Carina Trimingham, and then effectively given no choice but to accept his speeding points. He said Huhne used the lesbian public profile of his assistant - who had previously been in a civil partnership with a woman - to "allay the suspicions" of his wife that she was his mistress, it was claimed yesterday. Jurors were told Pryce was left "utterly humiliated" when the Lib Dem MP left her for his PR adviser and manager of his campaign to lead his party, Former Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, right, allegedly used his the lesbian past of his mistress Carina Trimingham, left, to lull his wife into a false sense of security about their relationship Julian Knowles, QC, defending Pryce, said the affair attracted "salacious" attention and urged jurors to consider how they would feel if their marriage was "put under the microscope" and "laughed at." Pryce, 60, admits accepting Huhne's speeding points in 2003 but pleads not guilty to perverting the course of justice on the grounds of marital coercion - meaning that her husband left her with "no real choice" but to commit the crime. Summing up the case against her, however, Mr Edis said: "You are not talking about a woman who is under the thumb of anybody. You are talking about someone who has had a brilliant career because throughout she has made good decisions. To describe such a person as being deprived of real choice is to stop living in the real world. Disgraced Lib Dem Chris Huhne, with his new partner Carina Trimingham, faced the media outside Southwark Crown Court this month Career in tatters: Philandering ex-MP Chris Huhne leaving Southwark Crown Court over allegations that he coerced his ex-wife into taking his penalty points on her driving licence She claims Huhne bullied her into action because it was crucial to him winning his party's nomination for the relatively safe Lib Dem seat of Eastleigh. Mr Edis told the jury of eight women and four men: "In a sense she is trying to pervert the course of justice again, but this time by fooling you." He added: "These are bare-faced lies designed to give a false impression about her. She is not a vulnerable, weak person, she is very clever. Mr Edis said she was driven by revenge after Huhne left her for Miss Trimingham. He said she had supported him in his bid to become an MP and through two attempts to claim leadership of his party. He added: "If what has happened to him had not happened he would probably be deputy prime minister now." The court was told Pryce wanted to strike at Huhne "from a very safe distance" by planting the stories of his deception in the newspapers without identifying herself. But when that failed she turned to "Plan B," which was to claim she was coerced into helping him and therefore not guilty of a crime. The court heard that swapping the speeding points was a "useful family arrangement" and benefited both Huhne and Pryce. Huhne was working as an MEP and was often away from home and Pryce wanted him to win a seat in Parliament. She was struggling to juggle her family and work roles and if he lost his licence she would have to "chauffeur" him around. Mr Edis accused Pryce of making up her claim that Huhne forced her to sign the speeding summons by confronting her with a pen in his hand. He said: "Do you think there is any prospect of this woman having been reduced to such a quivering jelly when she sent the form - that she had no real choice?" Mr Knowles said that if the jury considered the evidence properly they would find her "obviously not guilty." He said she was put in an "impossible situation" by her husband and had "no realistic choice" but to sign the form and take the points.