Nigella's cocaine 'lies': Aide insists TV chef took drugs 'every three days' - and her house was regularly littered with rolled-up banknotes and wraps of white powder

Nigella Lawson's former personal assistant has told a court that the chef took cocaine 'regularly' and the star's claim she had only taken the drug seven times was untrue.

Giving evidence at her fraud trial, Elisabetta Grillo, 41, said she saw 'regular' evidence of drug use in the celebrity chef's home and found a packet of white powder in her toilet.

The Italian-born aide said that Miss Lawson had smoked cannabis in front of her children, and hid cocaine in a hollowed out book in her office.

Grillo said she had found various signs that Ms 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.

The former aide also told the court she found similar evidence when Ms Lawson moved in with Mr Saatchi at his home in Eaton Square.

Grillo challenged the chef's claim she only took cocaine at two stages in her life - when her husband John Diamond was dying from cancer and in 2010 when her marriage to Mr Saatchi was hitting the rocks.

Strongly refuting this claim, Grillo said she saw evidence of Miss Lawson's drugs use about 'once every three days' when she worked for her.

 

However, she said she had never seen Miss Lawson taking drugs.

Asked if she had ever seen the TV cook 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 Ms Lawson had taken drugs and, when pressed by barrister Anthony Metzer QC about what type of substances, she said both cocaine and cannabis.

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

She said: 'At the time I thought it was an embarrassing topic to talk to someone about it, especially when you are part of the family. I didn't want to embarrass myself or her.'

Italian-born Grillo, who is accused alongside her sister Francesca of defrauding Ms Lawson and Mr Saatchi, said that, when she was living with Ms Lawson in Shepherd's Bush around a year after she first started working for her and then-husband Mr 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 said she found rolled-up notes - on one occasion a £20 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 said that in a drawer in Ms Lawson's office at the home she shared with Mr Saatchi, she found rolled-up banknotes, including American dollars.

She said: 'Most of the time I would sit in Nigella's office. In the drawer I also saw again notes, again rolled up and there were like three or four, as well, American money - dollars. 

'They were tolled up with white stuff. In Eaton Square.

'There was a book like a box, it looked like a book and it was black.

'It was next to the desk, where Nigella was working most of the time. This book she also had in Shepherds Bush.'

Quizzed by Mr Metzer over how regularly she saw 'evidence of drug use' at the Eaton Square home she said 'regularly'.

He asked: 'Over the course of your work there, how often did you see evidence of cocaine use?'

She replied: 'Like every three days, like that. Regularly. Not only once for sure.'

Grillo also said she had seen drawers full of anti depressants and sleeping pills stashed in Miss Lawson's bedside table at Eaton Square.

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

But Miss 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.

Asked if Miss Lawson's claims she had only taken cocaine at those two stages in her life Grillo said: 'No, I know I also saw more stuff before that.'

And she also revealed Nigella would smoke cannabis in front of her children when she couldn't sleep.

Grillo, her voice dropping to a barely audible whisper at times, said: 'They said Nigella was smoking cannabis with them.'

She added that the children said Miss Lawson 'couldn't sleep at night so she would go downstairs and would smoke.

'They would say that was helping mama.'

Her kids would take advantage of Nigella being high to ask for presents, the court heard.

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.'

She said that Ms Lawson's moods were 'very up and down' and said she could be 'mean'.

'Sometimes she can be very open with me, say she loved me and sign a message with a kiss. But sometimes it would be mean.

'Once I was having lunch with the girls and I think it's mean but I don't know.

                               

'Over lunch she said 'Can you come here?' and I thought maybe she needed help cooking.'

But she said that, instead, Ms Lawson pointed to some parsley on the floor, saying: 'Can you pick it up?', and added: 'I always think that that was kind of mean.'

Grillo said she was originally employed as a live-in au pair when Mr Diamond was ill.

                               
                               

However, after just one week she was asked by Miss Lawson to take on more responsibilities around the house, like cooking, cleaning and ironing, from around 7am to 7pm.

She then became a nanny for Miss Lawson and Mr Saatchi at their Belgravia home in central London after she and her sister Francesca were witnesses to their wedding ceremony in 2003.

The former assistant said she soon became very close to Miss Lawson, and the pair acted like confidantes to each other.

                              

Anthony Metzer QC, defending Grillo, asked: 'Did she talk to you about her decision to marry Mr Saatchi?'

'Yes,' she replied.

'She said it was good for the children. He was a nice person and was kind.'

The barrister asked: 'Did you share your personal life with her?'

                             

She said: 'I talked about my family, my relationships, my relationship with my mother, my dad, my sister.'

Grillo was so close to Miss Lawson and her children that they were like her 'family in England'.

She said Miss Lawson first gave her access to a taxi account after she was attacked outside the family home in Shepherd's Bush late at night, which left her with seven stitches in her head.

LIFE WITH THE DOMESTIC GODDESS: ELISABETTA GRILLO IN HER OWN WORDS

On the frequency of Nigella’s cocaine use: ‘Like every three days, like that. Regularly. Not only once for sure.’

On finding evidence of Nigella’s cocaine use: ‘I was cleaning the house and I noticed a little packet on top of the loo toilet and I opened it, it was a little funny envelope and I saw white powder… Cash, like £20 notes rolled up and once I noticed a credit card with white powder and they had a CD with white stuff."

On Nigella’s mood swings: ‘It was very up and down. She was very open with me, saying she loved me, and would send a text message with kisses. Sometimes she was mean.’

On Nigella marrying Charles Saatchi: ‘She said it was good for the children. He was a nice person and was kind.’

On Saatchi's temper: 'It was quite difficult, he is a very difficult person, very shouty. It was not a very happy marriage.

On Nigella and Saatchi’s relationship after marriage:‘She said she felt like being kept in a gold cage. She couldn't go out like normal people for a birthday because Charles wanted her there.’

On the difference between John Diamond and Saatchi: 'It was very different. It was very difficult. It was a lot of Charles shouting. Shouting at (the children), Nigella and myself.'

On being shouted at by Saatchi: 'I felt very belittled, I was not allowed to talk to him, I was scared what to say.'

On why she did not live in the house from 2005: 'I didn't want the arguments and the shouting, the environment, I didn't like it.'

Grillo said she used the account around four times a week when she was coming home late at night, and she was also allowed to use cabs when she was running errands for the household.

She also told jurors that Lawson allowed her to make purchases on a credit card linked to Saatchi's account on her own shopping and on haircuts from a salon on King's Road, west London.

Asked how she felt when she heard about the allegations made against her, she said: 'I felt very stressful about it.

'Sad after so long to finish like that.'

She claimed she left the couple's Eaton Square home for two years in 2005 because Saatchi was 'difficult' and because he was 'shouty at her'. 

The court heard that Lawson bought Lisa a diamond necklace from Tiffany's for her as a farewell present.

She said she had never heard of the chef before coming to work for her, and had been hired following a telephone interview from Italy.

Grillo said she was now working in a shop having struggled to find work since leaving Miss Lawson's employment.

The defendant was accompanied by a translator as she stood in the witness box, but only required her help a few times.

She and her sister Francesca both deny a single charge of fraud.

Earlier today the jury were directed to ignore the comments of Prime Minister David Cameron, who had previously declared himself part of 'Team Nigella' in a magazine interview.

The judge criticised Mr Cameron, who made the comment in an interview with The Spectator magazine, saying it was 'of regret when people in public office comment about a person who is involved in a trial'.

In the interview by the political magazine's editor Fraser Nelson, the Prime Minister was asked if he was part of '#teamnigella', and replied that he was a 'massive fan'.

Judge Robin Johnson directed the jury of seven men and five women to ignore the comments and to only focus on the evidence they have heard in open court.

 

He said: 'Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for delay is I have been taken to a large number of press reports.

'They centre on the Prime Minister commenting about a prosecution witness, Ms Lawson, during an interview with a journalist. 

'It is of regret when people in public office comment about a person who is involved in a trial that is in progress.

'It is inconceivable that some of your number may not have seen some of those comments.

'The defendants feel aggrieved as a result of the comments, though they do not specifically deal with matters in this trial, are favourable to Ms Lawson.

'The fact that they may feel aggrieved, the defendants, is not without justification.

'You'll realise that what public figures may feel about this case or a witness in this case, can have no bearing on the issues that you have to decide.'

Apologising for wasting the court's morning on legal argument, he added: 'I'm sorry that it has had the effect of wasting almost all of the morning that should have been devoted to evidence and real issues in this case.'

The Grillos, both of Bayswater, West London, are standing trial at Isleworth Crown Court accused of swindling £685,000 from Miss Lawson and Mr Saatchi. 

They allegedly used the money to pay for designer clothes and hotel stays around the world without permission.

Both sisters deny committing fraud by abusing their positions by using a company credit card for personal gain between January 1 2008 and December 31 last year.

The trial continues.

A former assistant to Nigella Lawson told how she became like a 'member of the family' as she helped to nurse the chef's dying husband during his final days. 

Elisabetta Grillo, 41, left her family home in southern Italy in 1999 to work as an au pair looking after Miss Lawson's two young children with her late husband John Diamond.

Grillo, known as Lisa, began working at the couple's home in Shepherds Bush when their nanny left after finding it too difficult to cope with the job and Mr Diamond's terminal illness.

Departing from Italy on a flight to Luton in August paid for by Miss Lawson, Grilo told Isleworth Crown Court she had been 'excited' to come to London - where she had  previously lived for five months.

However, two months after her arrival, Mr Diamond went in for surgery, so Miss Lawson spent a lot of time in the hospital with him.

When he left, he could not longer speak, the court heard.

Grillo said: 'It was sad to see, John was a very friendly person, a very strong character, and to see someone like that - it was sad.

'After time I understood the way he wanted to communicate with me. I really like John, he was very funny, even when he was in pain he was a very funny person to be with, and sometimes would help me to make his bed.

'It was a family.'

Asked what it was like in the house towards the end of Mr Diamond's illness, she said: 'It was very stressful, because at the time it was me, John and the children. Nigella was always out.'

As a nanny she worked from 7am until 7pm, looking after the couple's young children, cleaning and helping with the housework.

She did not have an employment contract with Miss Lawson, but the family became very close and she said she was paid cash in hand - £400 a month.

Grillo told the court that when she first bagged the job she had no idea Miss Lawson was famous.

With a slight smile on her face as she told the court: 'I helped Nigella with her new book. I never knew she was famous when I was working for her.'

Grillo and her sister Francesca, both of Bayswater, London, deny a single charge of fraud.

The trial continues.

'Nigella introduced me to Saatchi the day after her first husband's funeral... But later she complained she was being kept in a gold cage'

Nigella Lawson's former aide met Charles Saatchi the night after the funeral of the TV cook's first husband John Diamond, the court heard.

Elisabetta Grillo, who started working for Miss Lawson when Mr Diamond was battling cancer, told the jury in her fraud case that her employer was shocked to see the man who would become her second husband.

Grillo said: 'Nigella was saying 'Oh God, he is here, why is he here? I looked and it was Charles.'

Grillo said that Miss Lawson would regularly confide in her about her marriage to the art mogul, and had complained about being kept in a 'golden cage'.

She said that Miss Lawson had spoken to her about her decision to marry Mr Saatchi, telling her that 'it was good for the children. He was a nice person and was kind.'

Grillo and her sister Francesca were among a tiny group of people at Miss Lawson's wedding to Mr Saatchi.

She added: 'She told me I was like family.'

Grillo said Nigella also opened up about the death of her sister Thomasina in 1993, prior to the birth of the chef's daughter Cosima, known as Mimi. 

She said: 'She lost her sister before she had Mimi, so for her it was sad because she never saw Mimi.'

The former assistant told the court that she had met Ms Lawson and Mr Saatchi's celebrity friends, including Woody Allen and John McEnroe, at dinner parties at their Chelsea home.

Giving evidence last week Miss Lawson had told the court she had only been allowed to throw a dinner party every two years.

Grillo said that the relationship was 'not a very happy marriage' with the Domestic Goddess often saying she wanted to leave him.

The celebrity chef felt like she was living in a 'gold cage' because she wasn't allowed out and had told her children she planned to leave him - but never did.

She said: 'It was quite difficult, he (Charles Saatchi) is a very difficult person, very shouty.

'It was not a very happy marriage. It was difficult for me working in an environment like that, but I think it was more difficult for Nigella.'

She added: 'I was not very happy, but I tried to be strong for Nigella.'

Mr Saatchi unleashed his temper against Miss Lawson's children causing tension in the home, jurors were told.

Asked if Miss Lawson 'confided' in her said: 'Yes, she found it very hard. Because she loved Charles she tried to manage the situation, but not so well.'

She said Nigella's children would sometimes say 'Mum is going to leave Charles' but 'it would never happen'.

'She talked to me as well saying 'I don't know what to do.

'I knew it was difficult to live with him. But she loved him.

'And she, I always think, she hoped Charles was going to change, but he never changed.'

Asked by her defence lawyer Anthony Metzer QC how Miss Lawson's relationship and home life with Mr Saatchi compared with her first marriage to John Diamond, Grillo said it was 'different'.

She said: 'It was very different. It was very difficult. It was a lot of Charles shouting. Shouting at (the children), Nigella and myself.'

'Sometimes' Nigella would shout back, the jurors were told.

Asked how Nigella felt about her relationship with Mr Saatchi, Lisa said: 'She said it was like being in a gold cage.

'She couldn't go out like normal people for a birthday because Charles wanted her there.'

The atmosphere in the house grew so strained that Grillo decided to leave her job in May 2005 and began working at a shoe shop - although she returned two years later.

Talking about her decision to hand in her notice, Lisa said she walked out because 'I think I didn't want to stay living in there because of the way Mr Saatchi treated Nigella's children.

She added: 'And I didn't like the way he shouted at me because my English was not good.'

Grillo, who speaks with a thick Italian accent, later added: 'I felt very belittled, I was not allowed to talk to him, I was scared what to say.'

When she left her job, Miss Lawson gave her a diamond necklace from luxury jewellers Tiffany's.

Two years later she decided to return to work for Nigella after hearing from her sister Francesca that the chef was looking for an assistant.

However Grillo, who had originally lived with Nigella first in the home she shared with John Diamond and later in the Eaton Square home with Mr Saatchi, decided not to move back to the house when she came back because of the art dealer's temper.

She said: 'I didn't want the arguments and the shouting, the environment, I didn't like it.'

When she returned to work her pay was increased to around £25,000 a year and she became more of a house keeper.

This involved cleaning the house and running errands for Mr Saatchi, including ferrying brown envelopes stuffed with cash to and from the Saatchi gallery, the court heard. 

The 41-year-old looked emotional and spoke in barely more than a whisper for large parts of her evidence.

And at one point she dashed out of court because she felt ill, although evidence was resumed within minutes.

Quizzed over her transactions using Mr Saatchi's Conarco credit card, she said Miss Lawson authorised her to buy presents for herself and others on the card.

And she said she thought she was allowed to use the family's Comcab account regularly.

The former PA told jurors that Nigella and Mr Saatchi authorised her use the account after she was mugged on their doorstep.

She said two muggers lay on wait in the dark and tried to snatch her handbag, when she resisted they shoved her down the stairs, leaving her needing seven stitches to a cut to her head.

'She (Miss Lawson) said "Charles and me wanted to make sure you sure safe, when you come back home you can take a taxi", she said.

The court also heard that Miss Lawson showered her with gifts, including Prada handbags, shoes and a trip top Paris to stay at the posh hotel Fouquet in the French capital.

But she insisted she never used the conarco dishonestly.

Asked how she felt when confronted with the fraud allegations last summer, she said: 'I was in shock, because I still think I did nothing bad.

'I still think it was allowed and I was allowed - Nigella told me.'

The last time she saw Miss Lawson was on June 28 last year when she filmed a show for the chef's Nigellissima programme.

Parting gift: When Grillo left her job, Miss Lawson gave her a diamond necklace from luxury jewellers Tiffany's

The celebrity chef was cooking Grillo's homemade lasagne which she used to cook for the children and they got on well, the jurors were told.

Grillo said: 'She asked me to go filming with her, it was for Nigelissimma and she wanted me to film the recipe.

'I gave it to her, it was a lasagne Calabria, I did it for the children so many times.

'I was sitting next to her and it was a good time. She sent me a message to say she was glad to have me in my life and I was wonderful.'

Her recipe made it into the pages of the cook's Nigelissimma cook book.

But just a few weeks later the sisters were hauled into a meeting with Mr Saatchi's finance chief Rahul Gajjar, quizzed over their spending, and asked to sign a document admitting fraud and agreeing to pay the cash back.

In August last year Lisa and her sister, who are accused of swindling Mr Saatchi out of £685,000 using his credit card and splashing out on designer clothes and posh hotel trips, were arrested by police.

And she said Mimi sent her a text saying 'if John (Diamond) was live it would break his heart.'

At the station Lisa was tested for drugs and had her photo taken.

Asked how she felt, she said: 'For me, it was like a nightmare. I never thought I would ever be there.'

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.

'She never wants to talk with me. I tried to talk with her to explain.'

Grillo and her sister Francesca deny a single charge of fraud. 

The trial continues.