Nigella Lawson Choking Photos

British police claimed on Monday they are investigating newspaper pictures that show Nigella Lawson's husband Charles Saatchi with his hands around the celebrity chef's throat.


The images drew widespread disapproval after they were published by the Sunday People tabloid. The paper stated the photos were taken during a nasty fight at a London restaurant on June 9.

Lawson's spokesman, Mark Hutchinson, declined to comment on the pictures. But Saatchi, Britain's famous art collector, revealed to London's Evening Standard newspaper that the images misrepresented a "playful tiff."

Saatchi, an Evening Standard columnist, explained "the pictures are horrific but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place."

"About a week ago, we were sitting outside a restaurant having an intense debate about the children, and I held Nigella's neck repeatedly while attempting to emphasize my point," he was quoted as saying, adding: "There was no grip, it was a playful tiff."

The 70-year-old said the pair "had made up by the time we were home."

Saatchi noted that after the story broke on Sunday, he had advised Lawson to leave the couple's London home with their kids "until the dust settled."

Saatchi and Lawson wed in 2003 and live in London with Lawson's son and daughter from her marriage to journalist John Diamond, who died of cancer in 2001, and Saatchi's daughter from a previous marriage.

London police said it had not received a criminal complaint about the incident, and "inquiries are in hand to establish the facts" in order to assess whether a formal investigation was necessary.

In Britain a complaint from the victim is not necessary to lay assault charges if there is enough evidence from witnesses.

Just in the rare case you haven't heard before of Nigella Lawson, Lawson, 53, gained popularity with her 1998 bestseller "How To Eat" and is one of Britain's best-known cookbook writers, as well as the host of foodie TV shows including "Nigella Bites" and ABC's cooking program "The Taste."



Saatchi, co-founder of the Saatchi & Saatchi ad agency, owns one of London's biggest private art galleries. He was the main patron of the Young British Artists movement of the 1990s, which made household names of artists including Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.


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