Italian police have arrested six people accused of trying to extort ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi for €35m in exchange for documents they claimed could help him in a legal case.

The Italian parliament rebuffed a request by prosecutors to search some of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s properties as part of a prostitution probe, giving the embattled leader a much-needed victory.

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has laughed off an inquiry into his bawdy sex life and relationship with an underage girl as magistrates struggled to get permission to search his offices for evidence against him.