Police are looking into pictures that appear to show celebrity chef Nigella Lawson being physically restrained by her husband Charles Saatchi.
Photographs show the art collector with his hand around Lawson's neck as the pair sit on a restaurant terrace.
The chef appears to be grimacing in the pictures taken outside Scott's in Mayfair, central London.
Lawson, the daughter of former chancellor of the exchequer Nigel Lawson, was reportedly seen weeping following the episode.
She and Saatchi are said to be regular visitors to the upmarket restaurant, in Mount Street.
Scotland Yard said it was aware of the pictures published in yesterday's Sunday People.
A spokesman said inquiries were under way to establish the facts.
He added Lawson had not made a complaint to police.
Lawson married Saatchi, who made his name in advertising, in 2003.
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