Berlusconi trial team to call on actor Clooney

Silvio Berlusconi’s defence lawyers have named Hollywood star George Clooney, the Italian foreign minister and a bevy of showgirls as witnesses at the premier’s upcoming prostitution trial.

Prosecutors, for their part, have asked to hear from 136 witnesses, including the Moroccan teenager at the centre of the scandal and 32 other women who allegedly worked as prostitutes during parties at Mr Berlusconi’s villa, according to Italian news reports.