As the public debate rages on about Charles Saatchi's assault on wife Nigella Lawson, the lady at the centre of the scandal has remained resolutely silent. It has been two weeks since the infamous pictures emerged of millionaire art collector Charles with his hands round Nigella's neck at Scott's restaurant in Mayfair — and since then, the issue has been raised in the House of Lords and on Nick Clegg's radio phone-in show. But the domestic goddess has so far made no comment, despite her husband, 70, accepting a police caution for assault.
So far, the only official statement Nigella, 53, has made came last Monday when her publicist confirmed she had "left the family home with her children".On Friday, she was pictured outside her rented flat in Mayfair without her wedding ring, and the following day a bag of clothing was delivered to her home. While her husband has dismissed the incident as a "playful tiff" and has said Nigella is waiting "til the dust settles", she has reportedly told friends that she "wants out" and is on the verge of ending the nine-year marriage.
Speculation she is ready to walk away was further fuelled as two of the country's top lawyers met up for lunch at the same restaurant where the incident took place.
Raymond Tooth and Fiona Shackleton were pictured together at Scott's where they greeted each other warmly before heading inside. Fiona is a cousin of Nigella, and represented Prince Charles in his 1996 divorce from Diana, Princess of Wales, and Sir Paul McCartney in his 2008 split from Heather Mills — Heather famously threw a jug of water over her during proceedings at the High Court.
Of course, the meeting between the two professionals might not have been anything more than a social get-together. As the two titans of divorce law, their paths have crossed on a number of occasions; Raymond — who has a motto, 'Don't get even, get Tooth' — hired Fiona to represent him in his own divorce case.
Formidable divorce lawyer Raymond, meanwhile, is famous for negotiating multi-million pound settlements in celebrity divorce cases. His client list includes Sadie Frost, Cheryl Barrymore and Irina Abramovich, former wife of billionaire Chelsea football club chairman Roman Abramovich.