Charles Saatchi confesses to assaulting wife Nigella Lawson in public

Celebrity cook Nigella Lawson's billionaire husband, Charles Saatchi, has admitted that he assaulted his wife by choking her in public during a heated fight at the Scott's restaurant in Mayfair.

Earlier he had described his act as merely a 'playful tiff' with no grip during a discussion where he was trying to 'emphasize' a point, the Herald Sun reported.

Saatchi was interrogated for five hours at Charing Cross police station about the week old incident, where he acknowledged his mistake and was handed a formal caution.

A police spokesman confirmed that the 70-year-old man voluntarily attended a Central London police station and accepted a caution for assault.

Despite the attack, the couple still seems to be together as they were seen dining at the same restaurant and sat at the same place where a week earlier the apparent assault occurred.