Campbell ‘mildly flirtatious’ with former Liberian President, former agent tells War Crimes’ Court

Carole White had told the court yesterday that Taylor had given Campbell diamonds after a dinner in South Africa in 1997.

Her account had contradicted Campbell’s version of events, who had testified that she did not know who the diamonds were from.

Taylor is charged of giving Sierra Leonean rebels weapons for diamonds.

Prosecutors were trying to link the former Liberian leader to the diamonds that Campbell had received. He had denied having anything to do with the trade in so-called “blood diamonds”.

White testified in court that Taylor and Campbell had been "mildly flirtatious" with each other at the 1997 dinner, which was hosted by former South African President Nelson Mandela.

Campbell’s former agent told the Court that Taylor had told the supermodel during dinner that he would send some men to give her diamonds,

She revealed that Campbell was communicating with the men and was "very excited" about the diamonds.

US actress Mia Farrow, who was at the dinner, also had testified yesterday that Campbell had been excited by the gift.

Last week, Campbell had claimed that two men had come into her room in the middle of the night and given her a pouch of stones, and that she did not know who had given her the gift.

Courtenay Griffiths, a defence lawyer for Charles Taylor, claimed that White had a "very powerful motive" for lying because of a lawsuit over breach of contract between her and Campbell. He also queried Farrow's memory and her impartiality.

Mr Taylor, 62, was arrested in 2006 and his trial in opened in 2007.

The former warlord was accused of arming Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels during the 1991-2002 civil war, a charge he denied..

Prosecutors have also accused Taylor that from his seat of power in Liberia, Taylor also trained and commanded the rebels who murdered, raped and maimed Sierra Leone civilians, frequently hacking off their hands and legs.