Sounds very like the Alastair Campbell Diaries, have you tried there? Look, I care nothing for Naomi Campbell, nor the trial that has ensconced her, but I have to say it was niggling me as to the whereabouts of those bloody diamonds. Well, it turns out the former head of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund has admitted receiving alleged "blood diamonds" from the said Ms Campbell. Jeremy Ractliffe said he personally kept three small uncut stones to protect the reputation of Campbell, Mandela and the fund, of which he remains a trustee. The 74-year-old said he recently handed the diamonds to South African police and would be willing to testify at the war crimes trial of the former Liberian president Charles Taylor. In a nutshell.
"You may be skinny, honey, but at least I ain't no whore."
Campbell told the trial at The Hague yesterday that she received "dirty-looking stones" after a 1997 dinner hosted by Mandela in Cape Town where guests included Taylor and the actor Mia Farrow. She said she then passed the gift to Ractliffe on the luxury Blue Train, intending that he use them to benefit the children's fund. Ractliffe confirmed in a statement today: "Three small uncut diamonds were given to me by Naomi Campbell on the Blue Train on 26 September 1997. I took them because I thought it might well be illegal for her to take uncut diamonds out of the country. Naomi suggested they could be of some benefit to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund (NMCF) but I told her I would not involve the NMCF in anything that could possibly be illegal."
Ractliffe, who worked as the finance director of construction and engineering company Murray & Roberts during the apartheid era [not used to doing anything illegal then - Ed], continued: "In the end I decided I should just keep them. A factor that influenced me not to report the matter to anyone was to protect the reputation of the NMCF, Mr Mandela himself and Naomi Campbell, none of whom were benefiting in any way. So I did not inform the NMCF or anyone else. I have now handed the alleged diamonds to the South African authorities. I do not wish to say any more as the matter is sub-judice and I am happy to testify should the international criminal court at The Hague request it of me."
Police in South Africa confirmed that Ractliffe alerted them yesterday and they collected the diamonds from his home. It was too early to say whether he could be charged with possessing them illegally, they added. "South African police have received the diamonds," said Musa Zondi, a spokesman for the elite crime fighting unit the Hawks. "They were handed over yesterday. They have been handed to the diamond board for authentication. "Once that is done it will be decided whether there is going to be a case into his [Ractliffe's] possession of uncut diamonds. You can't jump the gun now and say yes there will be or no there won't be."
Charles Taylor denies using illegally mined diamonds to secure weapons for Sierra Leone's RUF rebels during the 1991-2001 civil war [I wondered when we'd get on to that - Ed].
[Oh, is that it? - Ed]
