Disgraced barrister and part-time judge Constance Briscoe has been jailed for 16 months after being found guilty of lying to police investigating the Chris Huhne speeding points scandal.

She was convicted of three counts of trying to pervert the course of justice over the probe into how disgraced cabinet minister Huhne passed speeding points to his then wife Vicky Pryce a decade ago.

Briscoe, 56, of Clapham, who was one of the first black women to sit as a judge in the UK, was jailed for twice the amount of time handed to Huhne and Pryce and also faces being barred from the judiciary.

Jailing her at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Baker said: "If there is a common thread between you all then, from the insights I have had into the character of the each of you during this case, I regret that it is one of arrogance by educated individuals who considered that respect for the law was for others.

"I am only too conscious that your convictions mark a personal tragedy for both you and your children. You are an individual who unsurprisingly has been something of a role model to others.

"Although blessed with intelligence, you did not have every advantage in life. However, you worked hard at school and were the first person in your family to go to university."

She denied deliberately misleading police, saying it was clear she had spoken to journalists as her name was used in stories about the speeding points scandal.