Kate Moss “had to say [the] truth” about Johnny Depp.

The 48-year-old supermodel briefly gave evidence in her former partner’s libel trial against ex-wife Amber Heard in May and she insisted it was important she spoke up to deny claims the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ actor had pushed her down the stairs when they were on holiday in Jamaica.

Speaking to Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Desert Island Discs’, she said: “I know the truth about Johnny. I know he never kicked me down the stairs. I had to say that truth.”

Kate also defended John Galliano, who was given a suspended £5,000 fine in 2011 for racial abuse in a Paris Bar, insisting the fashion designer is “not a bad person” but was struggling with alcohol abuse at the time.

She said: “I believe in the truth and I believe in fairness and justice.

“I know that John Galliano is not a bad person – he had an alcohol problem and people turn.

“People aren’t themselves when they drink and they say things that they would never say if they were sober.”

During the libel trial – which ultimately saw the ‘Black Mass’ actor awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punative damages, reduced to $350,000 due to a statutory cap, and his ex-wife given $2 million in compensation – Amber had alleged Johnny lashed out at Kate during their three-year relationship, which ended in 1997.

The 36-year-old actress had been talking about an alleged altercation between her ex-husband and her sister, Whitney Henriquez, when she said: “[Whitney’s] back was to the staircase, and Johnny swings at her. I don’t hesitate, I don’t wait – I just, in my head, instantly think of Kate Moss and stairs.”

Kate later appeared at the hearing by video link.

When asked in court by Benjamin Chew, a member of the ‘Edward Scissorhands’ star’s legal team, if the 58-year-old Hollywood actor had ever pushed her down the stairs while they were dating, she replied: “No, he never pushed me, kicked me or pushed me down any stairs.”

She told the court how during their vacation, her then-boyfriend had picked her up and “got [her] medical attention” after she had fallen down some stairs.

Kate explained: “We were leaving the room and Johnny left the room before I did. There had been a rainstorm and as I left the room I slid down the stairs.

“I hurt my back. And I screamed because I didn’t know what had happened to me and I was in pain.

“He came running back to help me, carried me to my room and got me medical attention.”

Kate, who gave evidence in less than five minutes, was not cross-examined by Heard’s team.