Husband of culture secretary Tessa Jowell, faces charges of corruption in Italy

| Mon, 02/20/2006 - 04:20

The prosecutors conducting an investigation on Berlusconi's Mediaset company have published a letter which they claim was written by British lawyer David Mills, the husband of British culture secretary Tessa Jowell, where he appears to claim to have received 600,000 dollars as a "gift" for "tricky corners".

David Mills, who helped Berlusconi set up a network of offshore companies, apparently wrote that letter during a financial investigation raising questions about how he had received those 600,000 dollars. Proceedings in Milan are being held to decide whether he should be sent on trial on charges of tax fraud and money laundering.

The international lawyer has been repeateadly questioned by the Italian prosecutors on his dealings with Berlusconi's Mediaset company but this is the first time that such clear evidence of corruption is produced. He has stated during interrogation that he saved Berlusconi out of a great deal of trouble.

David Mills denies all allegations, claiming that they are connected to the upcoming elections in Italy. He also claims to have produced evidence which clearly shows where to 600,000 dollars come from. Silvio Berlusconi claims no wrong-doing and had originally even claimed not to be aware of who David Mills is.