The Grillo case (AKA Nigella & Saatchi)

[BerylStreep]

So the last thread on the Grillo case is full.

I have taken the liberty of starting a new one here for people's thoughts as the case unfolds.

I've been getting these bizarre foaming-at-the-mouth emails from Hillgrove for months. And I'm not on the nationals, nor do I cover crime or celeb gossip. Just extraordinary. I do hope Hillgrove PR's other clients realise what they've been up to.

edam - very interesting to read that Hillgrove started off by doing PR for the Grillos. How could they afford it? And then Saatchi started using the info Hillgrove was coming up with to brief against Nigella - even though he was supposedly on the opposite side to the Grillos.

Very good questions, hackmum...

I haven't had any of those edam and all I do is sleb gossip.

Lots of my friends have. I felt quite insulted. I'm obviously not good enough.

I feel a lot of sympathy for her but I don't think that makes me #Team Nigella.

The only thing I would say is that I was a bit queasy that she's represented by Schillings. They are bastards, and I'd want a bastard on my side, but I don't think they're that effective for the money.

And they're very aggressive, and sometimes that's counter-productive. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

They were really prominent in the super-injunction business, and I mean business, they're eye-wateringly expensive. Then the wheels came off and what people hoped for couldn't be delivered.

They weren't lying - I'd never say that about a firm such as Schillings - I think it despite their prudent advice, some of their clients chose to think they could work miracles.

limited, I did wonder about her legal advice. Seemed v odd to me that Schillings weren't all over the emails. They were so darned weird!

Richard Hillgrove used to work for Richard Desmond, owner of OK, The Express and Big Jugs, and like Charles Saatchi, noted for his kindness and love of kittens.

So, to round up the views of some posters here:

Nigella shacked up with a married man
Nigella did drugs
Nigella had a lot of money and it went through her hands and through the house like shit through a goose
Nigella was an unprofessional, disorganised and inconsistent manager

Therefore -
Nigella deserves to be accused of all of the above in open court and she doesn't deserve recourse to any defence.
Even though one of the list items is a criminal offence, she doesn't have any right to a legal defence.
And the media can broadcast everything that is said about her.

Sometimes you hire the bastards to prevent the other side from doing so..

And don't forget

'Don't even stop to consider Saatchi's role in the household or his responsibility for checking what his company is spending money on, let's make it all about Nigella'.

Limited, what a lovely chap he must be. Delightful company, I'm sure.

AFAIK Schillings quite properly threatened Hillgrove about damaging allegations against Nigella on his blog and the emails. He left them up which seems very reckless.

I'd be terrified of the financial costs of doing that and would withdraw it like a shot and grovel. I wonder why he didn't do that. Maybe he likes living dangerously. Or maybe he has money from somewhere to burn and likes a bonfire.

If someone doesn't take them down there's nothing you can do except pursue them afterwards, pointing out that you gave them fair warning and therefore they may have aggravated the offence.

I don't know what they're doing about that but I'm sure they'll be tireless in pursuit.

Hey-ho, the damage was done.

Apparently, she didn't want to give evidence and I don't blame her. But it's not optional in a criminal trial and it can't be.

She's a famous, rich and glamorous person which seems to be a problem for some posters. But I don't see why that should mean I feel any less sympathy for her than other witnesses in court I've seen destroyed by a defending barrister doing whatever he or she can for their client.

I don't believe she deserves any less sympathy than any other witness, but nor do I feel she deserves any more sympathy.

let's not forget that the Grillos were on trial. They had blagged an amazing amount of money out of a rich pair (probably brought tears of pride into their dad's eyes but let's move on from their criminal upbringing).

In my expenses claims. if I were to claim for a pink fur coat, the computer would have said no. Just no. But here there were no checks and balances because this was a pair who trusted people. THey are naive to be sure. But this does not entitle them to be robbed by the children of mafiosi. Just because they are rich, are they not entitled to the same degree of protection as if they were poor? Clearly not.

Those Grillos need putting in jail. They really do. Absurd result. Poor Nigella. You trust people because you think they are like you. They are not. They come from a background of criminality and dishonesty. They will rob you blind and they did.

Nice bit of libel there.

Interesting how Saatchi has gone quiet now. Nigella had her say - voiced her grievance about the whole stinking process and attempts to smear her name, but he's quiet. I wonder if he's satisfied now. Probably it's gone how he wanted it to go - he roughed her up a bit and ruffled her feathers. Was that mission complete? Merry Christmas to him too then

But what could they do if the emails were factual?

i don't think so.

They are a thoroughly nasty pair and they deserve the conviction they will get through the civil case.

I flipping hate the mentality that rules for someone because they are allegedly poor. They are not poor. It is all relative (are we all not poor relative to Saatchi/lawson). It does not mean that they are genuinely poor. It does not mean that poorer than thou means holier than thou. They are thieves and they flipping know they are.

Delete me now, MN. This result is an outrage. Nasty stuff.

Sometimes you hire the bastards to prevent the other side from doing so..

It's the Manchester United tactic under Alex Ferguson. Buy every great footballer in the world so the others can't have them and then ruin their careers by leaving them on the bench. Real Madrid did it too at the same time.

It doesn't work like that for lawyers, what with them being generally more sophisticated than your average footballer, and having a longer career.

The Man U/Real Madrid manoeuvre in action is here

I'm not suggesting any impropriety at all on the part of Mostyn. It's just that because of his position Lady Mostyn found it a little difficult to get someone willing to represent her. She managed it though.

Earnings you cannot state those things as fact.mn should delete

They weren't benched and they may yet prove their worth. I hope this isn't over.

The most successful lawyers I have encountered are clearly well educated, but have all the cunning and the finely honed killer instincts of Neanderthals.

Emails from whom noddy?

And how were they factual?

AFAIK once under oath and therefore subject to perjury, Saatchi said he'd never seen Nigella Lawson taking drugs. The impression I got was that his 'higella' email was intemperate and baseless and it was a terrible shame and mystery that it got out there.

One or other of the Grillos said Lawson had 'smoked weed' but wasn't required to establish that.

Lawson admitted doing Class A and Class B drugs. Not good. But I'm sipping a glass of wine atm so wouldn't be capable of driving my children to hospital in the event they split their heads open while I was idly MN-ing.

Doesn't make either of us Pablo Escobar.

Which bit is not factual? They charged a pink fur coat to their expenses. This is a fact. It came out in the court case, along with many many other dubious expenses, They are thieves and dishonest, Delete me now

That's a nasty tale, Limited.

I am just commenting on the emails and how they could have been kept out of the public domain if the contents were lies They were carefully worded to cause maximum damage.

I am not team anyone I think it was a dysfunctional set up that fell apart once CS lost control of nigella