LONDON — Chris Huhne, a leading Cabinet minister in Britain, was charged on Friday with attempting to force his ex-wife to take the rap for a speeding penalty - a move expected to prompt another shake up for the country's government.

Huhne, the energy and climate change secretary and a lawmaker with the Liberal Democrat party -- the junior member in Britain's coalition government -- will face allegations of perverting the course of justice -- criminal charges, said Keir Starmer, the chief prosecutor for England and Wales.

Huhne is alleged to have persuaded his now ex-wife, economist Vicky Pryce, to accept a speeding penalty on his behalf in 2003, to avoid a driving ban.

Starmer said that Huhne and Pryce, who were married for 26 years and had three children and two stepchildren together before they split, would both face charges.

"We have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Mr. Huhne and Ms. Pryce for perverting the course of justice," Starmer said.

"The essence of the charges is that between March and May 2003, Mr. Huhne, having allegedly committed a speeding offence, falsely informed the investigating authorities that Ms. Pryce had been the driver of the vehicle in question, and she falsely accepted that she was the driver," he said.

Both will make a first appearance at a London court on Feb. 16, Starmer said.

Huhne has consistently denied any wrongdoing over the case, which relates to a speeding offence as a car used by the couple travelled from Stansted Airport, near London, to Huhne's home in Clapham, south London.

Prime Minister David Cameron's office did not immediately comment on the charge, but said it was preparing to respond.

Under ministerial rules, Cameron can decide whether Huhne should remain a Cabinet member while he contests the charges -- though Huhne is expected to stand down voluntarily.

If he leaves the Cabinet, he will follow fellow Liberal Democrat David Laws -- who stepped down in 2010 over an allowances row, and ex-Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who resigned last year following a furor over the role of a close friend who had posed as an aide.