So reclusive that he does not attend even his own parties, Charles Saatchi has, nevertheless, felt compelled to become involved in a very public dispute.

The husband of Nigella Lawson has issued a writ at the High Court in London against his publishers, Phaidon Press.

Saatchi, who is this country’s biggest collector of contemporary art, claims that part of his agreement with the publisher is void and unenforceable.