Editorial: Why wait so long to tell the truth, Mr Huhne?

And after all that, he was guilty all along. Following a year of denials – the most recent of which was a "not guilty" plea entered in court just last week – Chris Huhne did a sudden back-flip yesterday and admitted that, a decade ago, his then-wife did indeed take speeding points on his behalf. The man once tipped to be the next leader of the Liberal Democrats now faces prison for perverting the course of justice.

If the original deception reflects badly on Mr Huhne, the lengths to which he went to try to cover it up are almost worse. Not only has the former Energy Secretary consistently lied, but consequently his legal team has spent the past few months claiming the evidence against him to be "gossamer thin" and pushing for the case to be dropped. With its backdrop of betrayal, bitterness and a broken marriage, the entire saga is a tragic one. But Mr Huhne's dodging and scheming make it hard to pity him.