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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Nigella Lawson 'not proud of drug use' | Nigella Lawson 'not proud of drug use' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| TV cook Nigella Lawson has told a court she is "not proud" of having used drugs. | TV cook Nigella Lawson has told a court she is "not proud" of having used drugs. |
| She told Isleworth Crown Court: "I would rather be honest and ashamed... not bullied with lies." | She told Isleworth Crown Court: "I would rather be honest and ashamed... not bullied with lies." |
| On Wednesday the 53-year-old admitted to taking cocaine while she was living with her late husband, John Diamond, and her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi. | On Wednesday the 53-year-old admitted to taking cocaine while she was living with her late husband, John Diamond, and her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi. |
| Her personal assistants, Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, deny accusations that they committed fraud. | Her personal assistants, Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo, deny accusations that they committed fraud. |
| 'Using case' | 'Using case' |
| They are accused of abusing their positions by using a company credit card for personal gain. | They are accused of abusing their positions by using a company credit card for personal gain. |
| Ms Lawson, responding to claims from the defence that she was not honest about her drug use, said: "No-one really wants their errors having the spotlight put on them. | Ms Lawson, responding to claims from the defence that she was not honest about her drug use, said: "No-one really wants their errors having the spotlight put on them. |
| "When I needed to tell the truth, I told the truth." | "When I needed to tell the truth, I told the truth." |
| Under cross-examination, she said: "I'm not proud of the fact I have taken drugs but that does not make me a drug addict or a habitual drug user." | |
| Ms Lawson was accused by defence barrister Karina Arden of using the court case as a vehicle to explain herself to the world's media. | |
| She denied the allegation, saying she did not want to attend the hearing at all because she had been "menaced". | She denied the allegation, saying she did not want to attend the hearing at all because she had been "menaced". |
| "I felt that I would be put on trial," she said. "I felt it was my duty to come. I certainly felt it would be an unpleasant experience, but that's not a good enough reason not to do one's duty." | |
| Earlier, Ms Lawson said she took cocaine with her late husband six times after he found out his cancer was terminal. The court was told she first used the Class A drug with Mr Diamond in 1999. | |
| She said she took it again in July 2010 after she felt she had been "subjected to intimate terrorism" by Mr Saatchi. She also admitted to smoking cannabis in the last year of her marriage to Mr Saatchi. | She said she took it again in July 2010 after she felt she had been "subjected to intimate terrorism" by Mr Saatchi. She also admitted to smoking cannabis in the last year of her marriage to Mr Saatchi. |
| 'Story made up' | |
| Ms Lawson said her ex-husband had "made up" a story after he was photographed gripping her throat and tweaking her nose outside Scott's restaurant in central London. | |
| They divorced in July, months after the pictures emerged. | |
| Ms Lawson said: "Mr Saatchi was not examining me for cocaine. That's a story he made up afterwards to clear his name." | |
| She said she did not lie to police about the drug allegations, adding that Mr Saatchi's claims of "getting cocaine out of my nose at Scott's" and her being "completely off my head for 10 years" were untrue. | |
| "I actually did say at the time it was the extent that was not true," she said. |