World News - Saatchi: No proof Nigella took drugs

divdiv class=story-body readability=78 span class=story-date#13; span class=date29 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time11:12 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1Charles Saatchi has told a court he has no proof his ex-wife Nigella Lawson ever took drugs - despite an email he sent claiming she was off her head./p#13; pHe was giving evidence at the trial of the couple's assistants Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo who deny fraudulently using their employers' credit cards./p#13; pThe Grillos' defence has claimed that the sisters were allowed to spend by Ms Lawson to cover her use of drugs./p#13; pAddressing the Grillos' defence counsel Mr Saatchi said: I have no proof./p#13; pArt dealer Mr Saatchi told defence barrister Anthony Metzer QC at Isleworth Crown Court: I have never, never seen any evidence of Nigella taking any drug whatsoever./p#13; pEarlier, Mr Saatchi told the court he was utterly bereft that a private email he sent to Ms Lawson referring to her being off her head on drugs has been made public./p#13; pWhen asked if he believed allegations that Ms Lawson was a habitual cocaine user, the art dealer said: I do not know./p#13; #13; pHe also told the court it was Ms Lawson's idea to let their personal assistants have company credit cards./p#13; pThe millionaire art dealer, who got divorced from the TV cook this year, said he was very fond of sisters Francesca, 35 and 41-year-old Elisabetta Grillo./p#13; pThey are accused of using credit cards loaned to them by the couple to spend more than £685,000 on themselves./p#13; pAsked who decided the defendants should have credit cards, Mr Saatchi said: My ex-wife, Nigella./p#13; pHe said the bills were initially paid by his company, Conarco Partnership, and he reimbursed the costs from his own personal account./p#13; pI'm pretty certain the company pays off everything and bills me and I pay back the company for anything that's personal, he said./p#13; span class=cross-headPolo match/span#13; pHe told the court the sisters were originally employed by Ms Lawson as nannies during her marriage to her late husband, John Diamond./p#13; #13; pThey later looked after his daughter Phoebe, now 19, when she was a child but Mr Saatchi said their role changed as the children got older./p#13; pThe children adored them and Nigella was very fond of them and I was very fond of them and we didn't want them to go so they stayed on as housekeepers and general assistants, he said./p#13; pMr Saatchi, who was repeatedly asked to raise his voice for everyone in the packed courtroom to hear, said the sisters' duties included housekeeping, shopping, doing the laundry, organising everyone in the household./p#13; pMr Saatchi told the court he recalled a peculiar instance when a taxi company called about a booking from London to Berkshire./p#13; pHe said he spoke to one of the sisters, who said she was in Berkshire at a polo match - though she said the taxi had only taken her to London Liverpool Street train station./p#13; pMr Saatchi said this was not the sort of journey he would have authorised./p#13; span class=cross-head£100,000 limit/span#13; !-- Embedding the video player --#13;!-- This is the embedded player component --#13;#13;#13; #13; #13;#13;#13;#13;!-- wwrights check --#13;!-- Empty country is used on test environment --#13;#13;#13;#13;div class=videoInStoryC readability=2#13; div id=emp-25150922-42343 class=emp#13; #13; #13; noscript#13; div class=warning readability=1#13; img class=holding src=http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71424000/jpg/_71424912_71424911.jpg alt=Charles Saatchi outside Isleworth Crown Court/pstrongPlease turn on JavaScript./strong Media requires JavaScript to play./p#13; /div#13; /noscript#13; #13; !-- embedding script --#13; #13; /div#13; !-- companion banner -- #13; #13; #13; #13; !-- END - companion banner --!-- caption --p class=captionThe BBC's Luisa Baldini: Mr Saatchi is usually a reclusive man, a private man/p#13; !-- END - caption --#13; #13; #13;#13;/div#13;!-- end of the embedded player component --#13;#13;!-- Player embedded -- pEarlier, Mr Saatchi's accountant told the court he increased the credit limit of one of the sisters to £100,000 without telling his employer./p#13; pProsecutors claim Francesca, 35, and Elisabetta Grillo, 41, lived the high life buying designer products./p#13; pThe court previously heard that Francesca, of Kensington Gardens Square, Bayswater, spent £64,000 on luxury holidays and designer goods in June last year./p#13; pMr Saatchi's finance director, Rahul Gajjar, told the court he authorised the defendant's credit limit, which started at £25,000 before increasing it to £50,000 in 2010 and then £100,000 in June 2011 after the defendant kept going over the limit./p#13; pDuring cross-examination, Karina Arden who is representing Francesca, asked: So the level of spending, which may be suggested by the Crown to be extraordinary - certainly you and Charles knew about it?/p#13; pYes, Mr Gajjar replied./p#13; #13; pMs Arden continued: He knew that a credit limit of £50,000 was insufficient at one point and therefore asked for it to be increased?/p#13; pMr Gajjar replied: The details of the figure I don't think Charles was aware of./p#13; pMs Arden said Francesca worked long hours, sometimes from 05:00 until late at night and Mr Gajjar agreed they lived and breathed Mr Saatchi and Ms Lawson./p#13; pPreviously, Mr Gajjar, who has been the finance director of Saatchi Gallery Group since June 2002, told the court other assistants employed by Mr Saatchi spent a maximum of £8,000./p#13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center