Naomi Campbell is accused of abuse - for the eighth time

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The model Naomi Campbell has been released on police bail after spending 10 hours in a cell after she was arrested for an alleged assault on her drugs counsellor.

The 36-year-old fashion icon, who has been accused eight times of violence or verbal abuse against employees or associates in the past eight years, apparently spent much of the time in a central London police station sleeping off jet lag.

She had been arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm at her home in London on Wednesday after her counsellor contacted police. Sources said the counsellor had walked into a police station looking "quite shaken up" and with red marks on both cheeks.

Representatives of Campbell, who has attended a course in anger management, protested the British model's innocence and insisted there had been a "misunderstanding".

The model, the first black woman to appear on the front page of British and French Vogue, had arrived in Britain this week to renew her visa allowing her to work in America.

David Breitbart, her lawyer in New York, said the latest incident was "taking its toll" on the process of obtaining a three-year visa and she had been due to meet officials at the US embassy in London yesterday. He said she had passed a routine drugs test for the visa with "flying colours", and he expected Campbell back in America this weekend.

The model, who has an estimated fortune of £20m, was released from Belgravia police station early yesterday after hours of questioning. She returned to the police station to be bailed until early December. A spokesman for Campbell said: "We believe there has been a misunderstanding. Once police have investigated we are sure this will be resolved satisfactorily."

There are now four sets of outstanding legal proceedings against the model. She is due in court in New York next month to face a charge of second-degree assault for allegedly hitting an assistants with a crystal-encrusted mobile phone.

Amanda Brack, another former assistant, last month filed a lawsuit claiming she was struck on the head with a BlackBerry. Campbell is also facing a claim from an Italian actress that she was left "covered in blood" after a row in a Rome hotel room.

The model, who successfully sued the Daily Mirror for breach of privacy after she was photographed leaving a drugs-counselling session, later told an interviewer: "Anger is a manifestation of a deeper issue, and that for me is based on insecurity, self-esteem and loneliness."

The allegations

1998: Aide Georgina Galanis claims Campbell hit her over the head. The model pleaded guilty and paid undisclosed damages.

2000: Vanessa Frisbee accused Campbell of throwing a plate at her. The model denied it and sued for a breach of contract.

2001: Assistant Simone Craig claimed she had been kept hostage by the model, who denied the charge.

2004: Millicent Burton, a maid, accused Campbell of slapping her. The model said Ms Burton started it.

2005: Assistant Amanda Brack claims she was slapped and beaten with a BlackBerry device. The model denied violence.

2005: Yvonne Scio, actress and friend, claims Campbell punched and kicked her in a Rome hotel. The model denied violence.

2006: Housekeeper Ana Scolavino alleges she suffered a head wound when Campbell threw her mobile phone at her.