Naomi Campbell Admits Drug Use

LONDON (AP) _ Model Naomi Campbell, who's suing a tabloid newspaper that printed a picture of her leaving a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, admitted in court Monday that she had illegally used drugs.

Tuesday, February 12th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LONDON (AP) _ Model Naomi Campbell, who's suing a tabloid newspaper that printed a picture of her leaving a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, admitted in court Monday that she had illegally used drugs.

Campbell says the Mirror newspaper invaded her privacy and breached her confidence when it published the photo last year alongside an article describing how she had sought counseling for a drug problem.

The London-born supermodel said in court that she'd used illegal drugs, and had sought treatment.

``I knew that it was wrong and had damaged me and I decided to try and sort myself out,'' she said.

She said she felt ``shocked, angry, betrayed and violated'' by the article, headlined: ``Naomi: I am a drug addict.''

Campbell's lawyer, Andrew Caldecott, said the 31-year-old model had attended meetings of Narcotics Anonymous, often on a daily basis. On the day the photo was taken _ Jan. 30, 2001 _ she had attended three.

He said her attendance ``was a clearly private activity deserving of privacy.''

The newspaper's publisher, MGN Limited, denies wrongdoing.

The Mirror's lawyer, Desmond Browne, said the newspaper only revealed the truth about Campbell's drug use, which she had denied publicly.

``To the world at large, Miss Campbell sacrificed her right to anonymity by using illegal drugs and claiming she was drug free,'' he said.

The case at London's High Court is expected to last five days.