Nigella Lawson's husband Charles Saatchi has admitted assaulting the celebrity chef and accepted a police caution after published photos showed him grabbing Lawson's throat during an argument at a restaurant.

After first dismissing the incident as a "playful tiff," Saatchi says he approached police to discuss the incident after seeking legal advice, according to the London Evening Standard.

"Although Nigella made no complaint, I volunteered to go to Charing Cross (police) 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," he told the newspaper, where he is also a columnist. The

well-known British art dealer said questioning took four hours.

The incident happened June 9 in a London restaurant

Saatchi, 70, initially characterized the incident as a "playful tiff" during an intense debate about the couple's children, according to the Huffington Post. Lawson, 53, is a well-known TV chef and host, whose cookbooks are best-sellers in Britain and the United States.

In Britain, a "caution" is a formal warning given to someone who admits an offense. There's no penalty, but it can be used as character evidence in a later criminal case.

Lawson has not commented on the incident. Saatchi says the couple "had made up by the time we were home. "The paparazzi were congregated outside our house after the story

broke yesterday morning, so I told Nigella to take the kids off till the dust settled."

Lawson's spokesman, Mark Hutchinson, confirmed she took her children from the family home after the photos were published but declined further comment.

Saatchi and Lawson married in 2003 and live in London with Lawson's son and daughter from her marriage to journalist John Diamond, who died of cancer in 2001, and Saatchi's daughter from a previous marriage.

Contact Tony Hicks at Facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.TonyHicks or Twitter.com/insertfoot.