UK Wedding News
27/11/2013
The claims emerged during legal arguments in a case which involves the former couples' personal assistants. The two assistants, sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, are accused of fraud. They deny spending £300,000 on the couple's credit cards for personal use.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Isleworth Crown Court also heard how Mr Saatchi, 70, accused his former wife of allowing their PAs to spend money in order to cover her drug use.
The revelations were made as a judge decided the case against the Grillo sisters would go ahead, even though their lawyer argued they would not receive a fair trial.
Anthony Metzer QC explained his clients would not have access to a fair trial "as there has been a manipulation of the court process by the two main prosecution witnesses in this case".
He added: "It's a convenient forum for Mr Saatchi and Ms Lawson to rehearse disputed issues between them... in the criminal courts where, of course, the possibility of libel is not possible.
"If Mr Saatchi is telling the truth, then Ms Lawson is a habitual criminal."
According to the BBC, Mr Metzer also read out part of a statement from Mr Saatchi during the hearing. It said: "It was only during the break-up that I became aware that she was taking drugs when we were married.
"I can't remember precisely when but I think it was in June 2013, at the time of the well-publicised incident at Scott's restaurant in Mayfair.
"It was subsequently confirmed to me by other people in and around the household."
Dismissing Mr Metzer's concerns, Judge Robin Johnson said: "I consider, with the right rulings and the ability to monitor the process of the court during the process of the trial, a fair trial can be achieved."
Saatchi and 53-year-old Lawson ended their marriage in the summer after photos were published which allegedly showed the millionaire grabbing his wife by the throat outside Scott's restaurant in Mayfair. At the time, the art dealer described the incident as a "playful tiff", but he later accepted a police caution for assault.
(JP/CD)
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Nigella Lawson's Marriage 'Ruled By Secrecy'
A court in London has heard how there was a "culture of secrecy" in the marriage of Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson, the BBC has reported.The claims emerged during legal arguments in a case which involves the former couples' personal assistants. The two assistants, sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, are accused of fraud. They deny spending £300,000 on the couple's credit cards for personal use.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Isleworth Crown Court also heard how Mr Saatchi, 70, accused his former wife of allowing their PAs to spend money in order to cover her drug use.
The revelations were made as a judge decided the case against the Grillo sisters would go ahead, even though their lawyer argued they would not receive a fair trial.
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Anthony Metzer QC explained his clients would not have access to a fair trial "as there has been a manipulation of the court process by the two main prosecution witnesses in this case".
He added: "It's a convenient forum for Mr Saatchi and Ms Lawson to rehearse disputed issues between them... in the criminal courts where, of course, the possibility of libel is not possible.
"If Mr Saatchi is telling the truth, then Ms Lawson is a habitual criminal."
According to the BBC, Mr Metzer also read out part of a statement from Mr Saatchi during the hearing. It said: "It was only during the break-up that I became aware that she was taking drugs when we were married.
"I can't remember precisely when but I think it was in June 2013, at the time of the well-publicised incident at Scott's restaurant in Mayfair.
"It was subsequently confirmed to me by other people in and around the household."
Dismissing Mr Metzer's concerns, Judge Robin Johnson said: "I consider, with the right rulings and the ability to monitor the process of the court during the process of the trial, a fair trial can be achieved."
Saatchi and 53-year-old Lawson ended their marriage in the summer after photos were published which allegedly showed the millionaire grabbing his wife by the throat outside Scott's restaurant in Mayfair. At the time, the art dealer described the incident as a "playful tiff", but he later accepted a police caution for assault.
(JP/CD)
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