Nigella Lawson admits she used drugs

Nigella Lawson has revealed during a court hearing that she is “not proud” of having used drugs.

Giving evidence for a second day at Isleworth Crown Court, Nigella Lawson said: “I would rather be honest and ashamed… not bullied with lies.”

Nigella Lawson, 53, admitted taking cocaine while she was living with her late husband, John Diamond, and her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi.

Responding to claims from the defense that she was not honest about her drug use, Nigella Lawson said: “No-one really wants their errors having the spotlight put on them.

“When I needed to tell the truth, I told the truth.”

Under cross-examination, the TV cook said: “I’m not proud of the fact I have taken drugs but that does not make me a drug addict or a habitual drug user.”

Nigella Lawson was accused by defense barrister Karina Arden of using the court case as “damage limitation” and a vehicle to explain herself to the world’s media.

She denied the allegation, saying she did not want to attend the hearing at all because she had been “menaced”.

The court was told Nigella Lawson first used the Class A drug with him in 1999.

She said she took it again in July 2010 after she felt she had been “subjected to intimate terrorism” by Charles Saatchi.

Nigella Lawson said her ex-husband had “made up” a story after he was photographed gripping her throat and tweaking her nose outside Scott’s restaurant in central London.

Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson divorced in July, months after the pictures emerged.