British model Chloe Ayling has defended profiting from her alleged kidnapping ordeal by being paid for television interviews and writing a book.
The 20-year-old claims she was snatched, drugged and held hostage for six days by a group calling itself Black Death after being lured to a fake modelling shoot in Milan in July.
But she has attracted criticism for the way she has handled herself in the media since the incident, with some accusing her of inventing the events in Italy as a publicity stunt.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the mother-of-one said the newspapers are portraying her story falsely, and insisted that the truth would be revealed when the men accused of being involved in her abduction appear in court.
But when quizzed by Piers Morgan, Ayling revealed that she will be releasing a book for which she will be getting a “few thousand” pounds, and that she had also been paid for some interviews.
Morgan asked her: “Does it help you to be apparently seen to be exploiting all this for financial gain when we haven’t even had the trial yet?”
Ayling replied: “No, because I am not modelling anymore. I am not with an agent, so I have to do something in the meantime.”
The model’s alleged captor, Lukasz Herba, 30, is in custody in Milan, having been arrested after delivering Ms Ayling to the British Embassy.
He has said he did not knowingly take part in any crime.
At a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Friday, District Judge Paul Goldspring ruled that his 36-year-old brother, Michal Herba, should be extradited to Italy to face trial.
The Polish brothers, along with other “unidentified” accomplices, are accused of kidnapping the model before demanding a 300,000 euro (£264,000) ransom.