Nigella Lawson left a trail of cocaine through her house — with the white powder turning up in the bathroom, bedroom drawers and even on CD covers, an ex-personal assistant testified Thursday.
The British celeb chef used the drug “like every three days . . . regularly,’’ Elisabetta Grillo, 41, told a London court, contradicting Lawson’s earlier claim that she had taken the drug only seven times.
“I was cleaning the house, and I noticed little packets on top of the loo, the toilet,’’ Grillo testified, describing one of the many occasions she claims to have found white powder in homes Lawson shared with both her late husband, John Diamond, and ex-husband, high-powered art dealer Charles Saatchi.
Grillo said she found “white stuff’’ on CDs and a credit card, and once opened a drawer to find money, including American currency, “rolled up with white stuff.’’
But pressed on whether she had ever actually seen Lawson do cocaine, Grillo answered, “No.”
The aide also claimed that Lawson smoked pot in front of her children when she was having trouble sleeping.
Asked why she never confronted Lawson, Grillo said, “At the time, I thought it was an embarrassing topic . . . I didn’t want to embarrass myself or her.’’
Grillo and her sister, Francesca, 35, are on trial for allegedly bilking more than $1 million from Saatchi and Lawson, using the couple’s credit cards to buy themselves designer clothing and other extravagances.
The sisters have said the couple let them spend whatever they wanted, as long as they didn’t reveal Lawson’s alleged drug habit.
Lawson has said the fraud trial — and the claims that she’s a cokehead — were concocted by Saatchi because she left him.
Also Thursday, Judge Robin Johnson laid into British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said in an interview that he’s a member of “Team Nigella.’’
Instructing the jury to ignore the comment, Johnson said, “It is of regret when people in public office comment about a person who is involved in a trial which is in progress.’’
Jeane MacIntosh
, Post
Wires