Cross-examining at Southwark Crown Court, Andrew Edis QC said Ms Pryce, an economist, had taken the speeding story to the Mail on Sunday and Sunday Times because she wanted to destroy her husband in an act of revenge.

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The court was told Miss Sayer then heard her dog "screaming" when Purchase poured boiling water on him in an "act of revenge".

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It has been alleged, though not proved, that the 2002 bomb attack that killed 11 French naval engineers in Karachi was an act of revenge for ceasing the payments to Pakistan.

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