Television chef Nigella Lawson took cocaine and other drugs daily for over a decade, a London court heard on Tuesday. The 53-year-old, known as the 'domestic goddess', allegedly used class A and B drugs as well as prescription medicines, keeping her habit a secret from her then-husband Charles Saatchi.
The allegations emerged during the fraud trial of Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, who are accused of defrauding Saatchi and Lawson of more than £300,000. The sisters claim Lawson allowed them to spend freely in exchange for their silence about her drug use.
Judge Robin Johnson lifted a reporting restriction after an email from Saatchi was read in court. In the email, Saatchi referred to Lawson as 'Higella' and said he believed the sisters' claims. However, in a later statement, Saatchi said he was 'speculating' about Lawson's permission for the spending.
The Grillos are charged with using company credit cards for luxury items including designer clothes and first-class travel. Their defence argues that Lawson's drug use is relevant to her credibility as a prosecution witness.
Prosecutor Jane Carpenter QC called the drug allegations 'totally scurrilous', noting they were made over a year after the sisters' original witness statements. The trial continues.
