Resignation of Minister Shakes Cameron's Coalition in Britain LONDON - Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government was shaken on Friday when criminal charges for perverting the course of justice in a speeding case were laid against Chris Huhne, the energy and climate change minister, who has been one of the top ministers in the Cameron cabinet. Mr. Huhne, 57, immediately resigned from the government and said he would fight the charges when the case comes to an initial court hearing on Feb. 16. He will face trial with his former wife, Vicky Pryce, 59, a prominent economist. Legal experts said the charges against the two carried a possible jail term. The case will center on allegations that Mr. Huhne, then a member of the European Parliament, was caught exceeding the speed limit by a police camera on a motorway outside London in 2003, and falsely claimed, with his wife, that she was the driver. Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, told a news conference that lawyers for the service had concluded that there was "sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against both Mr. Huhne and Ms. Pryce for perverting the course of justice." The case is not expected to come to trial for several months. The allegations had been under investigation since last summer by police in Essex County, site of Stansted airport, where Mr. Huhne had landed on the day of the speeding offense on a flight from Brussels, according to accounts in British newspapers. He has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, as he did after the criminal charges were announced. "The Crown Prosecution Service's decision today is deeply regrettable," he told reporters in a brief statement. I am innocent of the charges, and I intend to fight them in the courts, and I am confident that a jury will agree. He declined to answer questions. Although the dominated the news in Britain, it seemed unlikely to destabilize the Cameron government, at least in the short term. Shortly after Mr. Huhne's resignation, Mr. Cameron said he would be replaced in the energy post Edward Davey. Mr. Davey, like Mr. Huhne, is a member of the Liberal Democrats, partners with the Conservatives in the 21-month-old coalition government. Despite a fractious relationship during their time together in government, the two parties in the coalition, with a majority in the House of Commons, have pledged to maintain their partnership until the next general election, expected in 2015. The party leaders, Mr. Cameron for the Conservatives and Nick Clegg for the Liberal Democrats, have said sharp differences on other policy issues will be subordinated until then to the parties" common agreement on the need for harsh spending cuts to rein in a ballooning government deficit.