Berlusconi promises to quit if he is proved to be a liar

Embattled Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi today promised he would resign immediately if he were shown to have lied about his relationship with an 18-year-old model at the heart of a scandal that has gripped the country for weeks.

Berlusconi made the promise after Spanish newspaper El Pais published photographs of topless women and a naked man lounging at his Sardinian home.

Last week, Italian prosecutors acting on a request from Mr Berlusconi’s lawyers seized the photographs and put the photographer under investigation for alleged violation of privacy.

The photos came to light amid a scandal involving Mr Berlusconi and Naples model Noemi Letizia, whose 18th birthday party the premier attended several weeks ago. Mr Berlusconi’s wife cited the premier’s attendance at the party in announcing she was divorcing the 72-year-old.

Mr Berlusconi has denied any scandal, saying Ms Letizia is the daughter of an old friend from political circles and that he attended her birthday party because he happened to be in Naples that day. He has accused the centre-left opposition of grabbing onto the gossip to try to discredit his political party before European Parliament elections this weekend.

He repeated today that there was nothing “spicy” in his relations with Ms Letizia and said he would resign immediately if anyone could prove otherwise.

“If someone can demonstrate that the premier perjured himself, the premier would have to resign and hide himself the next minute,” he said.

Ms Letizia’s ex-boyfriend has said she and several other young women spent a week at Mr Berlusconi’s Sardinian villa over New Year and that he listened in on phone calls between Mr Berlusconi and Ms Letizia, fuelling speculation about an inappropriate relationship between the two.

Photographer Antonello Zappadu shot hundreds of photos of the party from outside the villa’s gates, which were seized by Rome prosecutors. But he said he had already sold the rights to the photos outside Italy, possibly explaining their publication by El Pais under the headline: “The photos vetoed by Berlusconi.”

One of the pictures features two topless women in the garden, another shows a naked man poolside, a third shows a woman in a red coat while two others show Mr Berlusconi walking in the garden.

Mr Berlusconi has denounced the paparazzi for what he has said was an invasion of his privacy – a charge he repeated today after El Pais published the photos.

Asked why there were naked women at his home, he said: “Do you take a shower dressed? These girls were bathing in a whirlpool bath inside a private home, and they were assaulted in a scandalous way.”

In an editorial titled “Berlusconi Naked,” El Pais said: “The publication of the photographs of his private parties is in no way an attempt to judge his morals as a citizen but rather to demonstrate that he, as prime minister, is trying to convert the democratic political space into a simple extension of his friendship ties and his entertainment."

The paper warned that under Mr Berlusconi, Italy as a legal state, is under threat, something that is worrying not only for Italians but for all Europeans.

The photos have also sparked an investigation by Rome prosecutors into alleged abuse of office for the improper use of a government plane. Other photos show friends, entertainers and starlets arriving on a government plane in Sardinia for parties at the premier’s home.