Huhne quits as energy secretary to fight criminal charges

Chris Huhne has confirmed he will resign as energy and climate change secretary to fight charges of perverting the course of justice.

Speaking this morning outside his home, Huhne said the matter was "deeply regrettable" but said he was innocent and "intends to fight this in the courts".

"To avoid any distraction to my official duties or the court case, I am standing down and resigning as energy and climate change secretary," he said. "I will continue to serve my constituents in Eastleigh."

In a letter accepting Huhne's resignation, David Cameron said Huhne had "made the right decision under the circumstances" and added he "had led the government to live up to its responsibilities to tackle climate change with great passion".

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is expected to make a formal statement after midday.

Huhne's work on the Green Investment Bank, passing the fourth carbon budget and aligning himself with businesses to push for tougher EU emissions targets, was praised while he was in office. However, other issues, most notably the handling of reductions to feed-in tariffs, which led to a legal wrangle still to be resolved, were seen in a rather different light.

"Chris Huhne has led some significant long-term policies to help shift the UK to a low-carbon economy, such as the Green Deal and reform of the electricity markets," said Neil Bentley, deputy director-general at the CBI. "But other short-term decisions, like those on the Carbon Reduction Commitment and solar feed-in tariffs, have caused greater uncertainty among businesses and investors."

The fear among many businesses is that the inevitable changeover could see key energy policies, such as electricity market reform, delayed.

Writing on social networking site Twitter, David Symons, director at consultants WSP Environmental, said the charges were an "unwelcome distraction for green business and policy".

However, Alistair Harper, senior policy adviser at think-tank Green Alliance, added that the government now had an opportunity to ensure green thinking becomes part of the wider policy agenda.

"He leaves a big gap, but this could also be an opportunity for the prime minister and deputy prime minister to assert their ownership of the green economy," he told BusinessGreen.

Margaret Ounsley, head of public affairs, WWF-UK, warned that Huhne's successor, widely thought to be Lib Dem employment minister Ed Davey, will face stiff challenges ahead.

"Chris Huhne understood the very complex issue of climate change, and fought his corner long and hard within the government to ensure that core policies, such as the fourth carbon budget, were delivered, against the nay-saying of the Treasury," she said.

"Whoever succeeds him will have some tough battles ahead in order to ensure that the ambition of the Climate Change Act is delivered."

Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, similarly said she hoped the next Energy Secretary would prioritise renewable energy.

"Chris Huhne was a strong advocate of the renewables agenda and no doubt his forcefulness will have been a key factor in securing a better outcome than many feared regarding the budgets for the Renewables Obligation, the Renewable Heat Incentive and the Feed-in Tariffs," she said.

"The subsequent poor handling of the latter was regrettable. We would like the new incumbent to make rebuilding investor trust and confidence in the government's renewable energy policies their number one priority."