She denies the charge and has adopted a defence of marital coercion, saying Huhne persuaded her to take the points.
Prosecutor Andrew Edis, QC, told the jury at Southwark Crown Court in London the points-swapping only came to light in 2010/2011 when Pryce told several newspapers in a bid to ruin her former husband's career after he left her for his former press adviser Carina Trimingham.
The jury was yesterday read emails between Pryce and Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott – who is due to appear as a prosecution witness tomorrow – in which they discussed how the story could be published and end Huhne's career. They also heard four calls Pryce made to Huhne around April 2011, which were recorded with Ms Oakeshott's help in an unsuccessful bid to get some proof for the story.
Mr Edis told the jury they would have to decide whether Pryce, an economist and senior civil servant, was "weak-minded" and forced by Huhne into accepting the points, or was a "strong-minded and manipulative" woman acting of her own free will. "Focus not on whether she was persuaded but whether she was in a situation where she had a choice," he said.
He added: "Her revenge in the end was to pass the story of the 2003 points to the newspaper so they would publish it and destroy his political career."
In the email exchange from March 1, 2011, Ms Oakeshott suggested a number of pieces run in the Sunday Times including news features and a story at the front of the paper, writing: "This is what I strongly recommend you do, given your dual objectives of bringing Chris down, if you can, without seriously damaging your own reputation in the process."
In a later email she warned Pryce of the danger of facing criminal proceedings if she did reveal she took his penalty points, and that the newspaper was discussing the issue.
Pryce wrote: "I would need some reassurance it would bring Chris down."
Later she added: "I have no doubt, as I really want to nail him. More than ever actually, and I would love to do it soon."
Ms Oakeshott later replied: "The bottom line is that this story will bring Chris down if you are prepared to go on the record, with the minor risk this carries. I think you can make yourself out to be very much the honourable one, saying it has very much been on your conscience ever since, saying you knew it was wrong but you were bullied into it."
During four phone calls played to the jury, Pryce tried to get her former husband to admit she had taken the points in 2003. She repeatedly asked Huhne to confirm she took his points, but her ex-husband staunchly denied it. At one point he told her: "Can I suggest if you want to stop journalists door-stepping you, you stop telling ridiculous stories to the press?"
In a later call he told her not to speak to Ms Oakeshott, saying: "There is no upside to talking to her from your point of view. There is only a potential downside."
Pryce's trial will continue tomorrow.
l UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has ruled out standing in the Eastleigh by-election. The poll has been triggered by Huhne's decision to stand down as a Liberal Democrat MP.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article