Popular British chef Nigella Lawson choked by husband in public

HORRIFYING images which appear to show celebrity chef Nigella Lawson being choked by her billionaire husband Charles Saatchi have been published in Britain’s Sunday People .

The couple, who have been married for nearly ten years, were dining at their regular haunt Scott’s in Mayfair when the images were taken.

Onlookers told the tabloid, owned by the Mirror Group Newspapers, that the pair were having a heated fight during which the star was reduced to tears.

The 53-year-old TV chef appears terrified as her 70-year-old husband firmly placed both hands around her throat and then appeared to squeeze on several occasions.

He reportedly at first used his left hand, then both hands as he grasped at her neck on four occasions, the paper reported. Lawson then jerked her head back several times.

He then pinched her nose before he pushed both hands in her face.

The incident was allegedly witnessed by bystanders and other diners but no one intervened.

Eyewitnesses said Lawson’s voice quivered but she also appeared to try and calm her husband down.

“It was utterly shocking to watch,” one diner told the tabloid. “I have no doubt she was scared. It was horrific, ­really. She was very tearful and was ­constantly dabbing her eyes.

“Nigella was very, very upset. She had a real look of fear on her face. No man should do that to a woman. She raised her voice and got angry but at the same time was trying to calm him down, almost like you would try to calm down a child.”

At one point the voluptuous chef leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek.

Saatchi reportedly stormed out of the restaurant to a waiting car while the chef couldn’t hold back her tears as she held a hand to her face and wept as she walked towards the vehicle.

The eyewitness told Sunday People that Saatchi “looked guilty”.

“It was clear he knew he’d done something wrong. He was menacing, there’s no ­question. She had been abused and ­humiliated in public.”

A spokesperson for the restaurant told the newspaper: “We do not comment on the private matters of customers.”