Nigella Lawson Seemingly Choked By Husband In Shocking Restaurant Photos

Nigella Lawson appears to be choked by her husband Charles Saatchi — in public — in shocking new photos he now claims look worse than they are.

The incident between the TV food personality and Saatchi occurred recently at a London seafood restaurant, where eyewitnesses and paparazzi photographers caught Saatchi getting physical with his wife of 10 years.

In a series of upsetting images, Saatchi grabs Lawson’s throat as she looks fearful and terrified.

He is also said to have squeezed her nose and put his hands in her face.

According to other diners, Lawson’s voice trembled as she tried to calm Saatchi, and she left the meal in tears.

But Saatchi is insisting the apparent violence was really a “playful tiff” and says the couple had “made up” by the time they returned from the restaurant.

In a statement to the Evening Standard, Saatchi said:

“About a week ago, we were sitting outside a restaurant having an intense debate about the children, and I held Nigella’s neck repeatedly while attempting to emphasise my point.

There was no grip, it was a playful tiff. The pictures are horrific but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place. Nigella’s tears were because we both hate arguing, not because she had been hurt.

We had made up by the time we were home. The paparazzi were congregated outside our house after the story broke yesterday morning, so I told Nigella to take the kids off till the dust settled.”

On Monday, a spokesperson for Lawson simply confirmed reports that she and her children had left the family’s home.

Lawson has not personally commented on the situation.

Scotland Yard has announced that officers are seeking to “establish the facts in order to assess whether an investigation is necessary.”