Naomi Campbell’s former agent was accused today of lying when she claimed the supermodel knowingly received “blood diamonds” from former Liberian president Charles Taylor.
Carole White repeatedly denied making up her account of what happened at a September 1997 party hosted by Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, South Africa.
Campbell insisted she did not know who gave her a gift of diamonds after the gathering - but her ex-agent and actress Mia Farrow have both contradicted her claim.
Ms White yesterday told the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands, that Campbell was flirting with Mr Taylor at the dinner and he said he would give the model some diamonds.
Mr Taylor’s defence lawyer, Courtenay Griffiths QC, today suggested that her evidence was a “figment of her imagination”.
He said: “Where you say that Miss Campbell and Mr Taylor were mildly flirtatious with each other, again I suggest that’s a complete fabrication by you.”
She replied: “It’s not.”
Mr Griffiths repeatedly quizzed Ms White about a witness statement in which she said she heard Mr Taylor promising to give Campbell the diamonds at the dinner table.
She admitted today that she did not hear him say he would make the gift.
“He nodded that he was going to send her diamonds. I didn’t hear the words, I don’t recall them,” she said.
“When Naomi Campbell leaned back to tell me that Charles Taylor was going to send her diamonds, he was in agreement. I don’t recall the conversation word for word.” Mr Griffiths said: “The bottom line is, you made this up.”
Ms White replied: “I did not make it up.”
Ms White said she was present at the end of the dinner when Campbell and the Liberian defence minister discussed how the jewels would be delivered. "It was quite clear that some men had already been dispatched to Johannesburg to collect the diamonds," she said.
The model's former agent said in her statement that Campbell and Mr Taylor somehow communicated after the dinner, although she did not know if they phoned each other or sent text messages. Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Ms White was roused when stones were thrown at the window of her room.
She said she went to the window and found two men outside who told her: "We've got a gift for Miss Campbell."
Asked how Campbell reacted on being told about the men, Ms White said: "I think she was quite excited that finally these diamonds had arrived."
The model and her agent let the two men in and offered them a Coca-Cola after they handed over the rough-cut diamonds in a "scruffy" piece of paper, Ms White said.
Mr Griffiths challenged her account, saying: "Two men you've never seen before that night just happen to throw stones at your window without knowing who you are or your connection to Naomi Campbell? How does that work?"
Ms White replied: "It's what happened. I can't say any more than that."
Mr Griffiths went on: "I suggest you are a liar."
She answered: "That's nice of you."
The defence lawyer continued: "I suggest that this account of what happened that night is a complete fabrication, which is why you are having difficulty dealing with the detail. Do you understand what I'm suggesting?"
Ms White said: "No."
Mr Taylor is accused of war crimes during Sierra Leone's civil war, including using "blood diamonds" to fund rebels. He denies 11 charges, including murder, rape, sexual slavery and recruiting child soldiers.