BySimon Round, Simon Round
Leading media divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt has spoken of her shock at being arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and her relief after being told she will not be charged with any offence.
Ms Lloyd Platt - who appears regularly on GMTV and Channel 4 and has acted for celebrities including Les Dennis and Anne Diamond - said she had been arrested by the police "under circumstances that were a complete mystery."
She had purportedly alleged that her ex-husband, Daniel Lloyd Platt - who was himself arrested last November on suspicion of malicious communication - had attempted to spike her food.
She said: "These allegations were never made by me. I never accused my husband of spiking my food. I did make certain allegations, which I don't want to go into, but that was certainly not one of them"
The pain was all the greater for the details of the alleged offence and the arrest being splashed over newspapers worldwide.
"There I was, having been arrested in circumstances that were completely bizarre, and it was all over the media. I don't know who was responsible for publicising it, but someone was. Now that everyone knows this is utter nonsense I hope they will put it right, but some newspapers are still running the story as if it were fact."
Ms Lloyd Platt recalled the circumstances under which she heard of police interest. "It was a total shock. I got a phone call at home as I was due to go in for a major stomach operation.
"Police said they wanted to interview me under caution. I was not concerned that I had not done anything wrong so I was happy to pitch up for an appearance on GMTV in the morning and then for my arrest by appointment at Colindale Police Station in the afternoon.
" Now that she no longer faces the threat of charges, she is beginning to see the humour of the situation. "I rang up my lawyer, Jeffrey Lewis, to ask him what I should wear to get arrested. He told me to wear something black.
"In the end he lost patience and just told me to get there on time. Once at the police station I posed for the police photographs. Jeffrey said: ‘Whatever you do, don't ask to see what the pictures look like.' It's just as well because I might have done."
Although she was always confident that she would not face charges, the huge media interest was an unwelcome surprise.
"Had it not been for the support I received from many hundreds of people I might not have survived because it was so wrong and unfair. One lady even started a campaign to get people to send me teddy bears to demonstrate support."
The Mill Hill Synagogue member added: "My rabbi, Yitzchak Schochet, got in touch with me to say how awful he thought it was and to offer his help. I've also been really touched by the support of the community."
Despite the happy outcome, Ms Lloyd Platt does have regrets. "My wish - as someone who always talks about happy break-ups - was to have a happy divorce myself. Regrettably, that totally eluded me. My ex and I aren't enjoying quiet little conversations now."
She concedes that there has been considerable public interest in the case. "I fully accept that people have a good old giggle. They are probably saying that she has written a book on relationships and she can't keep her own relationship together. But there is a vast difference between that and calling my integrity into doubt. I won't have people do that. I won't allow people to say that I lied or was dishonest."