'It's evil to say she was involved': British model's lawyer rejects claims she lied about being abducted as her friend reveals she is planning to do a glamour shoot TODAY

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A British model who was allegedly kidnapped was given underwear and chocolates by her abductor says her lawyer, as he dismissed claims she was part of the plot.

Italian police said Chloe Ayling was snatched last month by Lukasz Herba to sell on the dark web for £270,000 through a group calling itself Black Death. 

She was allegedly drugged and transported in a bag to an isolated village near Turin, where she was held for six days as her captors tried to auction her online.

The 20-year-old was told people were watching her and she would be killed if she tried to flee, meaning she complied with what her captor asked her to do, her lawyer Francesco Pesce said, as he dismissed claims she was somehow involved in the plot as 'evil'. 

Today, a close friend revealed the model is trying to 'get back to normal' and is taking part in a topless shoot this afternoon. 

Ms Ayling left her house this morning, wearing black leggings and a gold-coloured jacket

Mr Pesce told Radio 4's Today programme: 'She was told that she was going to be sold to somebody in the Middle East for sex.

'She was told that people were there watching her and ready to kill her if she tried anything.

'So she thought that the best idea was to go along with it and to be nice in a way to her captor because he told her that he wanted to release her somehow and sometime and she thought that the best thing to do was not to go in conflict with him.

'So she abided to his request, 'let's go and buy groceries' and 'you need shoes, let's go buy shoes' and she didn't try to flee.

Miss Ayling (pictured) prepares to get on a 'motorbike taxi' in Coulsdon, south London, today

Model Chloe Ayling leaving her home in Coulsden after she was picked up by taxi bike

'But I believe she was terrified at the moment and even if she could've asked for help she didn't because she was subjugated to this person, or people as she was given to understand.'

Mr Pesce dismissed suggestions Ms Ayling may have somehow been in on the kidnap, describing it as 'evil'.  

Ms Ayling left her house this morning, wearing black leggings and a gold-coloured jacket.

Pulling on a white helmet and black coat, she climbed on to the pillion seat of a motorbike before it set off in the direction of Purley, south London. 

When quizzed about the alleged kidnapping, Ms Ayling's mother would not answer any questions and simply said: 'You need to ask Chloe.'

Carla Belluci, a friend of Chloe's, revealed the model is trying to 'get back to normal' and is taking part in a topless shoot this afternoon

Today, a close friend revealed the model is trying to 'get back to normal' and is taking part in a topless shoot this afternoon.

Carla Belluci, a model and agent said: 'She said it was horrendous. She is trying to be strong. I think stuff is coming back to her. She did say she was drugged and I think now memories are coming to her, slowly.'

Ms Belluci said Chloe 'isn't the wisest of girls' and can be 'naive' because she is young

'I wouldn’t say she is the wisest of girls, she can be a little bit naive, she is young. But she has had a few weeks to get used to this.

'I would say she is naive, to get yourself in that position. The person she has dealt with, I would listen to other girls.

'I would never travel to a foreign country alone. Until you know everything is established and real. Girls are desperate for fame, they believe anything. When I used to model I'd take someone with me.

'For me as a woman I'd feel uncomfortable going alone to meet a male photographer. for me, that's just not my comfort zone.'

When asked about claims the story is 'fishy', she said: 'Chloe is a good girl, a little bit naive, could she be misled? I just don't want to say to be honest.

'If anything happened like that, i would say she was misled.

'She's always wanted to be a glamour model. I remember at 15 she said "I want to be a glamour model.” But obviously she had to wait until she was 18. It was always what she wanted to do, it was always her goal.’

Carla said she spoke to her on Sunday and Chloe told her she is doing a shoot for Page Three today.

British model Chloe Ayling (pictured) said she was kidnapped, drugged and stuffed into a suitcase in Milan

Lukasz Herba (pictured) allegedly tried to sell the British model on the dark web for £270,000

She said she was handcuffed to a chest of drawers and that he slept next to her in a double bed in a property close to the French border. 

Miss Ayling told Italian police in her official statement that he did not sexually assault her but instead gave her gifts of chocolate and underwear. 

The mother-of-one told officers: 'From the second night he took the cuffs from my feet, ass­uring me that sooner or later I'd be freed so I had no need to esc­ape.

'From that moment I always slept in his room, sharing the bed. To be clear, he didn't molest me sexually or ask for sexual favours.

'He never sexually molested me or asked for sexual favours because Black Death prohibited or severely punished members who touched kidnapped girls.

The model (pictured when she was pregnant, left) spoke about her ordeal outside her home (right)

'He held me prisoner for entire time of my kidnapping, guarded me, stopped me from going out or escaping, threatening me that 'they' would kill me if I did so. I never went outside because he prohibited it.' 

She only drank from sealed bottles because she was scared about getting poisoned but later developed a 'trusting relationship' with him.

Miss Ayling told the newspaper: 'Even now I fear for my life.'  

But questions were growing over apparent inconsistencies in the story behind the kidnapping of the British model. 

Paolo Storati, deputy prosecutor, described Herba as 'a person affected by mythomania' – an abnormal or pathological tendency to exaggerate or tell lies.

It also emerged the alleged kidnapper tried to sell a story to a tabloid newspaper while holding Miss Ayling captive.

Herba emailed the Daily Mirror two days into the abduction – under the heading 'British model kidnapped by Russian mafia' – offering to sell the story with photos of her.

He told Italian police he had falsely claimed the Russian mafia were involved in order to 'attract attention', the Daily Telegraph reported.

When asked if she knew that Herba had tried to contact a newspaper, Miss Ayling said: 'I know nothing about that at all.'

Questions have been raised over the official account of the kidnap amid claims 'many details do not add up'.

Last night, an Italian police source revealed they were looking into the possibility that Miss Ayling and Herba may have been collaborating, but as of yet they have been unable to prove this theory.

'During the first two days of questioning, neither Miss Ayling or Herba co-operated with the police,' the source said. 'The pair may have been seen together on other occasions. We also cannot find any trace of the agency that allegedly lured her to the country for the photoshoot.' 

Police are now looking into the possibility Miss Ayling (pictured) and Herba were collaborating 

Miss Ayling's alleged abductor took the mother of one on a trip to buy shoes in Milan (pictured)

This is the house where the 20-year-old model was held and she has now revealed her captor slept next to her in a double bed 

This is one of the bedrooms inside the home where Miss Ayling was allegedly held hostage 

A British police source said: 'Investigators are trying to get to the bottom of the validity of the claims. It is down to the Italian police to do this. It is currently being investigated as a real kidnapping, but some of the claims which have come out could be in the realm of fantasy.'

It comes as Herba's girlfriend revealed the 'fantasist' was sending her text messages the day Miss Ayling was taken in Milan. 

Natalia, from Poland and living in Birmingham, said: 'It was really believable, the way he was talking and describing what he was doing, that he was travelling all the time. 

'I did not have a reason to think he was lying.'

While detectives believe that the kidnapping did take place, they are baffled by a series of apparent inconsistencies, according to Italian media. Many of the questions relate to Miss Ayling's dealings with Herba.

Yesterday it emerged that the Page Three girl was taken shoe shopping by Herba, 30, during her time in captivity. When she was interviewed following her release, she is said to have cried after a police officer asked her: 'But don't you think it is strange to go and buy shoes with your kidnapper?'

Six days after Miss Ayling was taken from the photoshoot, Herba allegedly decided to take her to the British Consulate in Milan because he felt it was wrong to kidnap the mother of a two-year-old boy. Detectives remain baffled as to why Herba walked into the consulate, facilitating his arrest.

Investigators are also examining his previous contact with Miss Ayling, whom he apparently met in Paris when he booked her for a previous photoshoot.

Detectives have identified two suspects, including Herba. But they are struggling to work out the identities of the other three kidnappers whom Miss Ayling says were part of the gang.

Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported yesterday: 'That the kidnapping was real or that she was doped with ketamine is not put into question by the investigators. But it is also tremendously true that many details do not add up.' Other Italian media have questioned parts of her story.

A source close to the model said: 'She did know the man who kidnapped her. She met him in April on a photoshoot she had been on in Paris. He then called her agency and booked her for the photo shoot in Milan. He specifically asked for her. He seemed genuine. He sent previous examples of his work and paid in advance.'

It is thought that she was bundled into a car and taken to an abandoned industrial unit, where her kidnapper attempted to sell her on the dark web

An image supposedly uploaded to the dark web by Black Death to go with the advert selling Miss Ayling as a sex slave to the highest bidder. The picture is believed to be a scene from a pornographic film

Leading national newspaper La Repubblica claimed Miss Ayling burst into tears when police investigators asked her about the shoe-shop trip 

The Italian press has questioned why alleged kidnapper Herba would accompany Miss Ayling into the British consulate in Milan

The source added: 'During the kidnapping Chloe lost her shoes. He took her to buy some new ones during her ordeal.'

Herba, who lives in the West Midlands, appeared in a Milan court last Friday on suspicion of kidnap.

He had apparently claimed to be in a shadowy online network called Black Death and allegedly threatened to sell the model for sex to the highest bidder on the so-called Dark Web if his demands were not met. Miss Ayling said that after being drugged, her kidnappers stripped her, handcuffed her wrists and ankles and taped her mouth. She was driven 120 miles to a farmhouse near Turin, where she was shackled to a chest of drawers.

After her release, the model spent more than two weeks helping the Italian police with their investigation before returning to her family home in Coulsdon, south London, on Sunday.

Herba was said to have 'booked' Miss Ayling through a firm called Supermodel Agency, which is run by an agent called Phil Green.

But celebrity agent Mark Cowne, who represents stars including Cher and Sir Richard Branson, said she would no longer be working with Mr Green. 'It is completely down to the fact [Mr Green] sent her to an event he hadn't checked out.'

Mr Green said the suggestion he was no longer Miss Ayling's agent is 'the first I have heard of it', adding: 'As a former lawyer, I exercise due diligence on all new clients to check every required detail.

'I received full details of the proposed shoot … [I] spoke to the photographer … there was nothing which anyone would have flagged up as suspicious, non-conventional or non professional.' 

Bizarre life of fantasist who sent his lover texts as he held model hostage: Mercedes driving 'kidnapper' told girlfriend he was a successful businessman who was on a trip to the US while in Italy 

By Claire Duffin and Rebecca Camber for the Daily Mail 

The Polish man at the centre of the Dark Web kidnap plot sent text messages to his girlfriend while allegedly holding a Page Three model hostage.

Lukasz Herba had told partner Natalia he was a successful businessman who was travelling to America to meet new clients for his chicken feed firm.

But the 'fantasist' was in Italy where it is alleged he drugged model Chloe Ayling, before holding her hostage for six days.

Herba, 30, who was arrested in Italy last month, claimed to be part of a 'Black Death' kidnap group who planned to auction her on the internet.

Lukasz Herba (left) told his partner, Natalia - who lives in Birmingham -  that he was a hugely successful businessman who was travelling to America

But his story began to unravel yesterday as Natalia painted a picture of a Walter Mitty-type character who tried to impress her with details of his success while living in a West Midlands council flat.

Herba told Natalia he ran an international firm making synthetic chicken feed, and turned up at her home driving a Mercedes and wearing a pinstripe suit. He also told her he owned land in Scotland, was a crack shot who owned a sniper rifle, and was involved in the gold trade.

He even joked about spiking her drink with drugs and then continued to text her while he was allegedly holding Miss Ayling in a remote farmhouse near Turin.

In a message sent on July 11 – the day Miss Ayling was taken – he said to Natalia: 'Long routes now I have and barely have time between recharging and meetings. Then I am so knackered that I do not want anything and shower and sleep.'

In another sent three days later he said: 'At hotels but it is literally just sleeping because of the … mega tight schedule right now. Just terrible I'm tired all the time.'

Natalia, from Poland and living in Birmingham, said: 'It was really believable, the way he was talking and describing what he was doing, that he was travelling all the time. I did not have a reason to think he was lying.'

Herba's girlfriend (pictured) has said that her boyfriend Lukasz Herba sent her text messages from Italy 

She said she realised it was all rubbish when a friend sent her a link to a news story about the kidnap and she recognised his picture. Natalia added: 'It was him, the same name and everything. Now I am scared. I could not believe it. I live by myself and he was at my house, he might have shared my details with someone.

'He seemed different to other guys, like he had class, but that is just the image he was trying to create.'

Natalia said Herba first got in contact via Facebook on June 1. They had two mutual friends on the site and he sent her a message saying he would like to get to know her. She said they exchanged messages for a few days before meeting for the first time on June 4.

'Straightaway he was asking me if I wanted to have a family,' Natalia said. 'He said he wanted a family and he was looking for someone to settle down with.'

On Facebook he claimed to be the boss of a firm called Karmerg which purports to be a 'global leader in technology trade, servicing independent labs and scientists and delivering to prosperous clients'.

Office clerk Natalia said: 'I was very impressed by him – he'd told me he had finished three types of business studies, had a big imagination and big plans for his business … We were seeing each other every day after we first met, he was coming to my house. He told me he was going to Los Angeles for six weeks to find new contractors, we stayed in touch after he left and he even sent me some photos. He left on the 13th of June and said he was going to Szczecin in Poland for one day.

It is thought that the model was bundled into a car and taken to an abandoned industrial unit

'On the 14th he said he is catching a flight to LA … for all the time during that week, when he kidnapped that girl, he was texting me saying he was in Mexico, or in Texas, calling me telling me what contractors he had met.' 

On July 10, the day Miss Ayling arrived in Milan, he text Natalia saying: 'I think about you all the time.'

The following day, she asked him where he was, to which he replied: 'Texas further east. The flights are rubbish here. I'm running off to sleep because even the hotel WiFi is so-so. When I get up I'll call.'

In another message, Herba told her he owned a Steyr HS .50 rifle, saying: 'This is a big precision rifle, not for short distances.' When she joked 'You're a sniper?' he replied, 'A very good one', with a smiley face. He also sent her pictures of bullets and a target from a shooting range. Later, he sent her a picture of what he claimed were homes in Hollywood but was of a building which looked very similar to the farmhouse where Miss Ayling was held.

She said the last message was on July 16, adding: 'I thought he had met someone else or just did not want to speak to me.'

The Italian press has questioned why alleged kidnapper Herba would accompany Miss Ayling (pictured) into the British consulate in Milan 

Miss Ayling was released on July 17 and Herba was arrested in Italy the following day. News of the kidnapping broke over the weekend, when Herba was identified as a suspect. 'My friend sent me a photo of him from the news and the name and I saw it was him,' Natalia said. 'When I looked for him on the internet I could not find any trace of him.'

Far from the picture he painted to Natalia, Herba was living with his brother in a council flat in Tividale, near Dudley, where neighbours described him as a strange loner who drove a battered red Toyota.

They said he appeared to leave for work each morning in a suit, but returned repeatedly throughout the day, sometimes with a pet rat on his shoulder.

Yesterday, it emerged that Herba had once given out a business card to someone in Birmingham with the image of the Grim Reaper alongside the words 'Permanent Solution'. On the back it said to contact via the Dark Web and gave an address for 'MD'. In Italy, Miss Ayling had told police she too was given a business card and told to address him as MD.

Paolo Storati, deputy prosecutor, said of Herba: 'He presented himself as a professional killer. He was interested in chemical and poisons.'

Natalia, who was too scared to give her real name, said: 'I liked him … But later the way that he was talking was a bit selfish, always about himself, narcissistic … I thought that it all could be a bit too good to be true and it turns out I was right.'