Nigella Lawson's husband Charles Saatchi has accepted a police caution for assaulting his wife to avoid having them 'hanging over all of us'.

The advertising bigwig and art collector submitted himself to the police in hopes of brushing everything under the carpet, following the publishing of photos which appeared to show him grabbing and holding TV chef Nigella by the throat over the weekend. The incident, which happened a week prior to the publication of the photos according to Saatchi, was nothing more than 'a playful tiff' he previously said.

Today he told the London Evening Standard 'Although Nigella made no complaint, I volunteered to go to Charing Cross station and take a police caution after a discussion with my lawyer because I thought it was better than the alternative of this hanging over all of us for months.'

According to Sky, police cautions are not criminal convictions but can lead to an arrest if they are not agreed with, and can be used as evidence if the person is later convicted of a crime. Saatchi was questioned for four hours by police over the incident. Lawson's spokesperson has confirmed that she left the family home with her children after the photos came to light but had no further comment to give from her.