Show Trial
The trial of the two Grillo sisters ended up as I thought it would - as 'show trial' about the lifestyle of the rich and famous, particularly Nigella Lawson.
The real issue for the jury was whether or not Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi kept proper control of their finances - or were they just so lax and loose that the crazy spending habits of the Grillo sisters did not amount to theft and fraud.
But instead the story of the trial was whether Nigella snorted cocaine up her nose regularly and smoked dope now and again - neither allegation having any bearing on the alleged offences of the accused Grillo sisters.
Not a shred of evidence was produced to substantiate Nigella's alleged drug habit and even her estranged husband, Mr Nasty Saatchi, had to admit that he did not have any evidence to back up his mysteriously leaked email - which put these allegations into the public domain.
So if it was a victory for anything it was a victory for stupidity, if you ask me, and strengthens the call that juries should give proper reasons for reaching their decisions.
Because the whole business seems to have been about character assassination rather than a search for the truth and justice.
I wonder, by the way, if the Grillo sisters are related in any way to Beppe Grillo, the Italian comedian, anarchist and leader of the 5 Star Movement - which has broken the mould of Italian politics, for a while at least?
Legal Circus (2 December 2013)
A straightforward fraud case in a low profile London court is fast being turned into a legal circus because of the high profile nature of the two alleged victims - Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson.
What should be a simple matter of laying out the evidence, deciding right from wrong, who is telling the truth as opposed to lying through their teeth - is now becoming a twisted media jamboree in which the lifestyle of Nigella Lawson, in particular, appears to be on trial.
Rather than the alleged behaviour of her two former nannies and erstwhile peronal assistants - Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo (two sisters) - who are accused of spending £650,000 on themselves in a four-year 'free for all' spurge.
Now I read that the two sisters were paid salaries of £28,000 and £25,000 a year while living in rent free accommodation owned by Nigella Lawson - so it must have been pretty obvious on that kind of budget how much they could spend from their own funds.
Yet Francesca and Elisabetta stand accused of splashing out on thousands of pounds for spa treatments in luxurious hotels and expensive nightclubs - with their average monthly credit card spend reaching £76,000 at one stage.
The next instalment of the saga is likely to figure lurid allegations about Nigella's fondness for cocaine which have nothing whatever to do with the case of course.
But with the world's obsession with celebrity lifestyles - it's allegations of drug taking, not dishonesty, that will dominate the news headlines.
What should be a simple matter of laying out the evidence, deciding right from wrong, who is telling the truth as opposed to lying through their teeth - is now becoming a twisted media jamboree in which the lifestyle of Nigella Lawson, in particular, appears to be on trial.
Rather than the alleged behaviour of her two former nannies and erstwhile peronal assistants - Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo (two sisters) - who are accused of spending £650,000 on themselves in a four-year 'free for all' spurge.
Now I read that the two sisters were paid salaries of £28,000 and £25,000 a year while living in rent free accommodation owned by Nigella Lawson - so it must have been pretty obvious on that kind of budget how much they could spend from their own funds.
Yet Francesca and Elisabetta stand accused of splashing out on thousands of pounds for spa treatments in luxurious hotels and expensive nightclubs - with their average monthly credit card spend reaching £76,000 at one stage.
The next instalment of the saga is likely to figure lurid allegations about Nigella's fondness for cocaine which have nothing whatever to do with the case of course.
But with the world's obsession with celebrity lifestyles - it's allegations of drug taking, not dishonesty, that will dominate the news headlines.
