Charity man gave Campbell diamonds to police

Jeremy Ratcliffe was given the "dirty-looking pebbles" by Campbell following a star-studded party hosted by Nelson Mandela in South Africa in September 1997.

Campbell, 40, yesterday told the war crimes trial of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor that she was presented with the gift after being woken by two men in the middle of night following the charity dinner.

She said the stones were in her possession for around six hours before she handed them to Mr Ratcliffe, then the head of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund (NMCF).

The court heard the charity had no record of any such gift but Campbell said she understood Mr Ratcliffe was still in possession of the stones.

In a statement on Thursday, the charity said it had been unable to locate Mr Ratcliffe.

But yesterday Mr Ratcliffe came forward to say he had passed the gems to police in South Africa.

He said he had "just kept" the three small uncut stones until recently after telling Campbell it might be illegal to export them.

"I took them because I thought it might well be illegal for her to take uncut diamonds out of the country," he said.

Mr Ratcliffe said he had not told NMCF about the stones and confirmed Campbell had suggested giving them to the charity.

"I told her I would not involve the NMCF in anything that could possibly be illegal," he said. "In the end, I decided I should just keep them."

In a statement, he said he did not report the matter to the fund or anyone else "to protect the reputation of the NMCF, Mr Mandela himself

and Naomi Campbell, none of whom were benefiting in any way".

Mr Ratcliffe, now a trustee of NMCF, said he had handed the stones over to South African authorities but did not say when that had happened.

He said he would be a witness at Taylor's trial at The Hague, in the Netherlands. Taylor faces charges including criminal responsibility for murder, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers.