Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson barred from US following cocaine admission
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 03 April, 2014, 11:32pm
UPDATED : Friday, 04 April, 2014, 1:31am
Agence France-Presse in London
British television chef Nigella Lawson arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in west London. Photo: AFP
Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, who acknowledged last year that she had occasionally used cocaine, was denied permission to board a flight to the United States over the weekend, the US Embassy said.
Embassy spokeswoman Lynne Platt said that Lawson was stopped from traveling on Sunday and had subsequently been invited to the embassy to apply for a visa.
Lawson tweeted on Saturday that she was going on vacation, but she also has worked in the US, where she co-hosted TV cooking competition "The Taste."
British citizens need visas to work in the US but not for a vacation.
The 54-year-old Lawson said last year that she had taken cocaine occasionally in the past but was not addicted, as she gave evidence in the trial of two former personal assistants. British police reviewed Lawson's evidence but announced they would not be bringing any charges against the so-called "Domestic Goddess".
The Daily Mail reported Lawson, who split with wealthy art dealer Charles Saatchi in a bitter and public divorce last year, had checked in at Heathrow airport but after passing security was told she could not board the plane.
