Since it came to light that Campbell was allegedly given a so called ‘blood diamond’ by Charles Taylor - the former Liberian dictator – she has shown a marked reluctance to volunteer any information on the topic.

Following a request in May by the United Nations war crime prosecutors in The Hague that the British supermodel be compelled to give evidence at the trial of the ex Liberian president, a subpoena for her to do so has now been granted.

One of the crimes Taylor is accused of,  is of using diamonds seized from the gem mines of Sierra Leone – the so called  ‘blood diamonds’ - to fund a war that lasted from 1991 to 2001 & was responsible for thousands of deaths & mutilations.

The actor Mia Farrow, as well as Campbell’s former agent – Carole White – were also subpoenaed. Farrow has alleged that Campbell told her she’d been given an uncut diamond by Taylor whilst they were both guests at a dinner party held by Nelson Mandela in 1997.  Campbell reportedly told her that she was disturbed in the middle of the night by men claiming to be representatives of Taylor who presented her with a ‘huge diamond’. Farrow told prosecutors that Campbell had told her that “she had been awakened in the night by knocking at her door. She opened the door to find two or three men – I do not recall how many – who presented her with a large diamond which they said was from Charles Taylor.”

White has testified that she heard Taylor say he was going to give Campbell diamonds & actually witnessed the event.

“I was there,” she said, speaking from the London headquarters of Premier Model Management, the company that she founded and that represented Campbell for 17 years. “He did give it to her. It was a small, uncut diamond. I am totally surprised that Naomi hasn’t admitted it.”

The court documents issued in May state: “Ms Campbell, as the actual recipient of the accused’s gift of diamonds, is clearly in a position to provide material evidence about this event.” The court documents also make reference to repeated attempts to interview the model having been unsuccessful and to the fact that she had publicly stated she did not want to be involved. The prosecution argued that because of this, “… judicial intervention in the form of a subpoena is necessary.”

Whilst there has been speculation among some as to why Ms Campbell refused to testify voluntarily, she herself told the US chat show host Oprah Winfrey: “I don’t want to get involved in this man’s case – he has done some terrible things. I don’t want to put my family in danger.”

Now, it seems, she will have no choice.