Berlusconi corruption hearing begins

A Rome hearing today on whether to indict former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and lawyer David Mills on corruption charges was largely devoted to technicalities, a defence lawyer said.

Berlusconi is accused of ordering the payment in 1997 of at least £319,000 (€463,230) to British national Mills in exchange for the lawyer’s false testimony in two trials against Berlusconi. Both men deny the allegations.