PA 'saw signs of drugs at Lawson home'

Nigella Lawson's ex-PA told a UK court she saw evidence of regular drug use by the celebrity cook. Source: AAP

A PERSONAL assistant accused of defrauding Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi has told a London court she saw evidence of regular drug use by the celebrity cook.

Elisabetta Grillo, 41, said she found various signs that Lawson was using cocaine, including a packet of white powder found in a toilet in the home she shared with former husband, John Diamond, as well as rolled-up banknotes and credit cards with white powder on them.

Asked if she had ever seen Lawson taking drugs, Grillo - who is also known as Lisa - said "No".

But she told Isleworth Crown Court in west London that she was aware that Lawson had taken drugs and, when pressed by barrister Anthony Metzer QC about what type of substances, she said cocaine and cannabis.

Grillo, who worked for Lawson as an au pair, said she did not confront the 53-year-old about the issue as she didn't want to embarrass her.

Italian-born Grillo, who is accused alongside her sister Francesca of defrauding Lawson and Saatchi, said that when she was living with Lawson in Shepherd's Bush around a year after she first started working for her and then-husband Diamond, she found a small packet of white powder in the toilet while cleaning.

She told the court: "I was cleaning the house and I noticed a little packet on top of the loo, toilet.

"I opened it because it was kind of a little funny envelope and I saw white powder."

On other occasions she found rolled-up notes - on one occasion a 20 pound note - with white powder on them.

"Once I noticed a credit card with white, and a CD, like a music CD, with white stuff," she said.

Grillo also told the court she found similar evidence when Lawson moved in with Saatchi at his home in Eaton Square.

She said that in a drawer in Lawson's office she found rolled-up banknotes, including American dollars.

Asked by Mr Metzer if there was anything on them, she said: "Yes, again, white stuff."

The defence barrister asked her how often over the years she had seen signs of drug use, to which she replied: "Regularly".

Grillo also referred to a box, shaped like a book, in which Lawson has denied stashing drugs.

The celebrity cook last week admitted taking cocaine with Diamond when he found out he had terminal cancer, and on another occasion in July 2010 during her troubled marriage to Saatchi.

But Lawson, who also admitted smoking cannabis in the last year of her marriage to the art gallery owner, said the idea that she was a drug addict or habitual user of cocaine was "absolutely ridiculous" and accused her ex-husband of "peddling" stories about her alleged habit.

Metzer asked Grillo if Ms Lawson's assertion that she took cocaine with Diamond but never again until 2010 was true.

"No", she replied. "Because I know I saw more stuff before that."

Asked how often she saw evidence of cocaine use, she said: "Like, every three days, something like that. Regularly, not only once, for sure."

She told the court that Lawson's moods were "very up and down" and said she could be "mean".

Grillo then described how she felt after she was accused of stealing from the celebrity couple.

"I was sad after 14 years. They broke my heart," she said.

Grillo told the court she was shocked to be confronted by finance director Rahul Gajjar in July 2012 over her use of taxis or the company credit card.

The court heard that the Grillo sisters later met with Gajjar who urged them to sign a letter admitting fraud and agreeing to pay money back. But they refused and Elisabetta Grillo told the jury they would not sign as she did not want to admit to something she had not done.

She said she was upset by the allegations and she tried to contact Ms Lawson via letter and phone call but did not receive a reply.

She was asked about an email written to Lawson and Saatchi by her and her sister in October last year in which they begged for forgiveness.

Asked by Metzer what she was asking forgiveness for, she said: "Because I disappointed them. It's not because I did something bad... I wanted someone to talk with me, neither Charles or Nigella talked to us, they sent the lawyers and the police."

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