Celebrities must not be exempt from justice As we report today, the police have indicated that they are reviewing the allegations of substance abuse that arose from the trial of the Grillo sisters, Nigella Lawson's former assistants. Previously, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, had allowed his force to issue a statement indicating that what Miss Lawson told the jury amounted to an "allegation" and would not be investigated "at this stage." The apparent change in Scotland Yard's approach is appropriate. The television cook did admit under oath that she used cocaine in 2010, when she felt "ashamed, isolated, and in fear," as well as some years earlier when her previous husband was ill. She also said she smoked cannabis "with or in front of" her daughter. If the police do proceed with an investigation, this extraordinary drama looks likely to continue well into the New Year. The public has played witness to a very human tragedy for which most people will feel a great deal of sympathy. It is true that the sums of money of which the sisters were accused of defrauding Charles Saatchi give the story an air of surreal decadence that is hard for the rest of us to identify with. Miss Lawson and her aides spent up to £100,000 a month with credit cards, and Mr Saatchi would just sign off the bills without subjecting them to scrutiny. Their three children were allegedly given £80 a day each to cover the cost of food, transport and cinema tickets. Miss Lawson once bought Francesca Grillo a pink fur coat that cost £5,000. However, beneath the glamour is a sad, instantly recognisable tale of a relationship breaking down and unravelling in public. Miss Lawson told the jury that she was the victim of "acts of intimate terrorism" by Mr Saatchi; Mr Saatchi said he adored Miss Lawson and was devastated to have lost her. Whoever is to blame, it was alleged that Miss Lawson retreated - like so many people have been tempted to do - away from a difficult situation and into substance abuse. We are all human beings with flaws and capable of doing the stupidest of things under stressful circumstances. Miss Lawson is a talented cook, writer and TV presenter with a fanbase that she has richly deserved. Nevertheless, she has publicly admitted to taking illegal drugs and many will sadly conclude that it is only right that some variety of action will have to be taken. The alternative is that we accept a worrying double standard, because not doing anything would mean that the law is being applied unevenly. After all, our prisons are full to bursting with poor and vulnerable people who have been driven to narcotics and are now paying the price through criminal convictions. The great majority of reasonable people understand the law and do their best to stick to the letter of it. Therefore, they are bound to ask: why should the famous be exempt from the rules? Sir Bernard himself has spoken about the need to tackle middle-class drug abuse, going so far as to suggest that white-collar employers test their employees for cocaine use to help dry up demand. His tough approach is in response to a very serious problem: the casual use of narcotics among the middle class is a hidden but substantial part of a drugs trade that destroys so many lives. The rich should not receive different treatment from the poor: justice should be blind, and applied equally and fairly to all regardless of money or power.