Berlusconi claims plot to topple his government

Scandal-plagued premier Silvio Berlusconi defiantly accused prosecutors of trying to topple his government by seeking to put him on trial on charges he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and then tried to cover it up.

The sex scandal has splashed salacious details and allegations of wild parties at Mr Berlusconi's villas across newspaper front pages for weeks and drawn the ire of the Roman Catholic Church.