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Italy bid for PM corruption trial
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the husband of a UK minister could face trial in Italy, following a request from prosecutors.
A judge has been asked to indict Mr Berlusconi and lawyer David Mills on corruption charges, say reports.
It is alleged Mr Mills, who is married to UK Culture Minister Tessa Jowell, was paid a bribe by Mr Berlusconi after giving helpful testimony in two trials.
Both men deny the allegations, which come weeks before Italian elections.
'False theories'
The investigating magistrates from Milan, who made the request, are said to have rejected moves by Mr Berlusconi's lawyers that would have delayed demands for a trial until after the 9 April general election.
"One can only conclude that they want to interfere with the election campaign," Mr Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini told the Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper.
A spokesman for Mr Berlusconi said the corruption allegations were "false theories".
The request for charges is based on an 18-month investigation.
Mr Mills, who was a lawyer for Mr Berlusconi in the 1990s, is said to have received a gift of $600,000 (£344,000) from the Italian prime minister in 1997 as payment for not revealing details of the prime minister's media empire, Mediaset.
In a separate case, Mr Berlusconi, Mr Mills and 12 others are accused of tax fraud and embezzlement involving Mediaset. All the defendants deny the charges.
The Milan prosecutors hope to get a preliminary trial date in May.
Headlines
The BBC's Christian Fraser, outside the courthouse in Milan, says a blue trolley overflowing with thousands of documents was pushed to the seventh floor of the building to the office of senior judge Favio Paparella.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4793070.stm
It is alleged Mr Mills, who is married to UK Culture Minister Tessa Jowell, was paid a bribe by Mr Berlusconi after giving helpful testimony in two trials.
Both men deny the allegations, which come weeks before Italian elections.
'False theories'
The investigating magistrates from Milan, who made the request, are said to have rejected moves by Mr Berlusconi's lawyers that would have delayed demands for a trial until after the 9 April general election.
"One can only conclude that they want to interfere with the election campaign," Mr Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini told the Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper.
A spokesman for Mr Berlusconi said the corruption allegations were "false theories".
The request for charges is based on an 18-month investigation.
Mr Mills, who was a lawyer for Mr Berlusconi in the 1990s, is said to have received a gift of $600,000 (£344,000) from the Italian prime minister in 1997 as payment for not revealing details of the prime minister's media empire, Mediaset.
In a separate case, Mr Berlusconi, Mr Mills and 12 others are accused of tax fraud and embezzlement involving Mediaset. All the defendants deny the charges.
The Milan prosecutors hope to get a preliminary trial date in May.
Headlines
The BBC's Christian Fraser, outside the courthouse in Milan, says a blue trolley overflowing with thousands of documents was pushed to the seventh floor of the building to the office of senior judge Favio Paparella.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4793070.stm
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Mr Berlusconi and Mr Mills - the estranged husband of the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell - could face trial in Italy following the request, made to an Italian judge.
The development comes only weeks before Italian elections are due to take place.
It is alleged Mr Berlusconi ordered the payment of around £344,000 to Mr Mills in 1997 in exchange for false testimony by the lawyer in two trials of the Italian prime minister.
More
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,1728289,00.html