Chris Huhne yesterday quit his job as Energy and Climate Change Secretary in David Cameron’s Cabinet to fight a criminal charge of perverting the course of justice.

Mr Huhne and ex-wife Vicky Pryce, who faces the same charge, will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on February 16 to answer allegations that he persuaded her to take his penalty points for a speeding offence in 2003.

The Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh in Hampshire declared he was innocent and would mount a “robust defence” against the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he was hoping Mr Huhne would make a swift return to Government if he was acquitted.

In a letter to his former leadership rival, Mr Clegg said: “I fully understand your decision to stand down from Government in order to clear your name, but I hope you will be able to do so rapidly so that you can return to play a key role in Government as soon as possible.”

Mr Huhne, 57, is the third Cabinet minister – and the second senior Lib Dem – to be forced out since the formation of the coalition in 2010, following David Laws and Liam Fox.

His departure will be rued by Lib Dems on the left of the party, who saw him as one of the ministers most able to stand up for their values against Conservatives in Cabinet.

Environmentalists voiced dismay at the loss of what Greenpeace described as “a vocal advocate for the green agenda in a Government whose green credentials are looking more than a little tarnished”.