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Charles Saatchi accused of using fraud trial to attack Nigella Lawson Charles Saatchi accused of using fraud trial to attack Nigella Lawson
(about 5 hours later)
Charles Saatchi has used the trial of his two former assistants to attack his ex-wife Nigella Lawson because he was looking for a place "to put his hurt and anger" over their disintegrating marriage, a court has heard. Charles Saatchi has used the fraud trial of his two former assistants to attack his ex-wife Nigella Lawson because he was looking for a place "to put his hurt and anger" over their disintegrating marriage, a court heard on Wednesday.
Anthony Metzer QC, representing Elisabetta Grillo who is accused of the unauthorised spending of £105,000 on accounts used by the Saatchi-Lawson household, put it to the jury on Wednesday that the art dealer considered his client "a soft underbelly" through which to attack the TV chef. Anthony Metzer QC, representing Elisabetta Grillo who is accused of the unauthorised spending of £105,000 on credit card and taxi accounts used by the Saatchi/Lawson household, put it to the jury that the art dealer considered Grillo "a soft underbelly" through which to attack the TV chef.
"Could it be that Mr Saatchi was using this is a way to attack Miss Lawson by turning on one of his most trusted and loved people?" Metzer asked the jurors as they prepared to consider their verdict. "As his relationship with Ms Lawson started to unravel he looked for a place to put his hurt and anger. The extravagant way Miss Lawson kept her extended family on his money was now for him the legitimate place to assert his feelings." "Could it be that Mr Saatchi was using this as a way to attack Miss Lawson by turning on one of his most trusted and loved people?" Metzer asked the jury as they prepared to begin their deliberationsat the end of a case that has seen the TV chef admit to using cocaine and cannabis. "The extravagant way Miss Lawson kept her extended family on his money was now for him the legitimate place to assert his feelings."
In his closing speech, he told the jury at Isleworth crown court "this is a case with no winners – not Mr Saatchi, not Ms Lawson, and certainly not my client". "Miss Lawson and Mr Saatchi set out to bolster their own reputations in court at each others expense," he added. "My client has been caught in the collateral crossfire like a child in an acrimonious divorce".
Metzer added: "While not on trial your verdict is inevitably going to be very significant to Miss Lawson and her public image. Miss Lawson and Mr Saatchi set out to bolster their own reputations in court at each other's expense. My client has been caught in the collateral crossfire like a child in an acrimonious divorce." Grillo, 41, denies the fraud charge she faces alongside her sister, Francesca, 36 who is accused of defrauding the household of £580,000.
Grillo, 41, denies the fraud charge she faces alongside her sister, Francesca, 36, who is accused of defrauding the household of £580,000. Lawson, Metzer alleged, failed to tell the truth about the extent of her drug use in a bid to save her career. "Ms Lawson would have realised that a full acceptance of her drug use would have a significant effect upon her credibility and her career as an admired public figure," he said.
Metzer said the jury's job was to decide whether Lawson did or did not authorise either expressly or by implication any of Elisabetta Grillo's expenditure during the indictment period. He told the jury Lawson's evidence of limited drug taking "should be approached with extreme caution", saying it "came from a woman caught between a rock and a hard place" and that she had been "bullied" to maintain that she had not authorised the Grillos' spending.
He told them Lawson's evidence on drug taking "should be approached with extreme caution", saying it "came from a woman caught between a rock and a hard place" and that she had been bullied to maintain that she had not authorised the Grillos' spending. She did this "in fear of an investigation being carried out into her lifestyle which would have disclosed her authorisation of generous personal expenditure by her staff on his credit card as well as her secret drug use", Metzer said.
Lawson did this, said Metzer, "in fear of an investigation being carried out into her lifestyle which would have disclosed her authorisation of generous personal expenditure by her staff on his credit card as well as her secret drug use". He told the jury "this is a case with no winners – not Mr Saatchi, not Ms Lawson, and certainly not my client".
He added: "Miss Lawson would have realised that an acceptance of the full extent of her drug use would have a significant effect upon her credibility and her career as an admired public figure." Closing for the prosecution, Jane Carpenter told the jury the Grillos had been responsible for a four year "greedy and fraudulent free for all … abusing the trust and generosity of their employers."
The barrister asked the jury to consider if it was credible that Lawson had only used cocaine once since the death of her first husband, John Diamond, in 2001. "The defendants could have simply said they were authorised to use the cards," said Carpenter. "Why didn't they. Not once did they say that. Do you think it wasn't said because it wasn't true?"
"Remember the detailed descriptions from the defendants on the issue; the false book, the rolled-up notes, the envelopes left on the toilet cistern," he said. "It would be difficult to hide a drug habit from the cleaners." Carpenter earlier put it to Francesca Grillo that she lied about what they knew of Lawson's cocaine use. She denied the claim.
He said the culture of spending at the home was one of "largesse", spending up to £1.2m a year including almost £25,000 on flowers and £29,000 on VIP tickets to events. In her closing submission on behalf of Francesca Grillo, Karina Arden urged the jury to put aside Lawson's celebrity status when considering the drug allegations against her.
"The expression 'different world' might apply to you, members of the jury," he said. "I ask you to look at her not because she is a famous TV cook, but look at her evidence in exactly the same way you would anybody, dare I say it anybody who lives on an estate," she said.
Closing for the prosecution, Jane Carpenter told the jury the Grillos were responsible for a four-year long "greedy and fraudulent free-for-all … abusing the trust and generosity of their employers.
"The defendants could have simply said they were authorised to use the cards,. Why didn't they? Not once did they say that. Do you think it wasn't said because it wasn't true?"
The trial continues.
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