Vicky Pryce transferred to open prison in Kent - The Guardian

Vicky Pryce, the disgraced economist and wife of the former energy minister Chris Huhne, has been transferred to an open prison in a grade II listed building just four nights after being sentenced to an eight-month jail term.

After being found guilty of helping her former husband to avoid a driving ban by taking his penalty points, the once possible contender for election to the Bank of England's monetary policy committee was moved from Holloway prison in north London to an Elizabethan manor in the Kent countryside, according to reports in the Sunday Mirror and Sun on Sunday.

The East Sutton Park prison is set in 34 hectares (84 acres) and has its own rare breed farm. It is described by the prison service's own website as "a pleasant mansion house overlooking the Weald of Kent".

During sentencing on Monday, Pryce, 60 was told by a judge that in perverting the course of justice she had been motivated by "an implacable desire for revenge, and with little consideration of the position of your wider family".

Judge Justice Sweeney said she had pursued a "false defence of marital coercion. In doing so, just as you did in your dealings with the media, you have demonstrated that there is a controlling, manipulative and devious side to your nature."

It was reported that on Friday the mother of five was transferred to East Sutton Park, which holds both adult and young offender women in open conditions "preparing them for resettlement in the community" and where the regime includes "provision of farms, gardens, catering and training courses, and physical education".

Nick Hardwick, HM chief inspector of prisons, previously praised the jail reporting that it "provided very good outcomes" and was a "very safe place with very little bullying".

Hardwick added that illicit drug use at the prison, which holds just 100 women, "was virtually non-existent".

Pryce will be able to hire a TV and use a fridge-freezer at the prison but will also be expected to "muck out" the farm's stables, it was reported.

Pryce's solicitor Robert Brown told the Sunday Mirror: "She had no control over the move and it was entirely the decision of the prison service."

Her ex-husband, Chris Huhne, 58, is expected to be transferred from Wandsworth prison shortly.

The Ministry of Justice said that it did not comment on individual cases.