Nigella Lawson 'Was Off Her Head On Drugs'

Celebrity cook Nigella Lawson has been accused by her former husband Charles Saatchi of taking drugs.

The claim was heard in court ahead of the fraud trial of two sisters who used to work as personal assistants to the celebrity couple.

Italians Francesca Grillo, 41, and Elisabetta Grillo, 35, are accused of using a credit card given to them by the pair to buy things for themselves.

The defendants, of Bayswater, west London, deny the charges.

The court was read an email from Saatchi to Lawson saying the defendants "would get off" because Lawson was "so off your head on drugs".

The email read: "Now the Grillos will get off on the basis that you, Mimi (and another person) were so off your head on drugs you allowed them to spend whatever they liked.

Elisabetta (L) and Francesca Grillo (R) with an unidentified woman (C)

"Yes, I believe every word they said."

Mimi is Ms Lawson's daughter from her first marriage to John Diamond. 

Defence barristers acting for the two defendants had wanted details of the alleged drug use by Lawson - who ended her 10-year marriage to Saatchi earlier this year - to be heard in the case.

Judge Robin Johnson, who read out the email in court, said it could be reported despite the trial at Isleworth Crown Court in west London not having yet started.

Judge Johnson said Saatchi was asked by police to explain what he meant in the message to the TV chef.

The judge told the court that Saatchi said: "At the time of sending the email I was completely astounded by the scale of drug use set out in the statements (from the defendants).

"Nevertheless I did believe the allegations that I'm referring to in the email.

Charles Saatchi accepted a police caution for assault earlier this year

"I have been asked whether it referred to a belief that Nigella or the children permitted the sisters to spend whatever they liked. I can't remember precisely what I had in mind.

"On reflection, I was simply speculating that the sisters would use this information to defend themselves."

It is alleged that between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2012, the Grillos committed fraud by abusing their positions as personal assistants by using a company credit card for personal gain.

The TV cook is expected to give evidence during the trial, which is due to last at least two weeks.

Earlier this year, Lawson applied to divorce Saatchi on the grounds of his continuing unreasonable behaviour.

The pair broke up after pictures were published in a newspaper in June showing the millionaire art dealer holding his wife of 10 years by the throat.

The incident on the terrace of Scott's restaurant in Mayfair, central London, was dismissed by Saatchi as nothing more than "a playful tiff" but he later accepted a police caution for assault.