Banned Berlusconi photos published

Published: Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:48:25

Photos showing topless women lounging around at Silvio Berlusconi's Sardinian villa that were banned in Italy have been published by the Spanish press. Five photos were published in today's edition of El Pais despite the Italian prime minister obtaining a banning order and a criminal investigation against the photographer. But he has been powerless to prevent Antonello Zappadu from selling on overseas publication rights.

The Italian leader, already facing questions over the nature of his relationship with teenager underwear model Noemi Letizia, appears fully-clothed in two of the pictures. He is the only person to be identified in the images, with everyone else having their faces obscured by pixels. Speaking to Italian state radio on Friday, Mr Berlusconi said the photos, taken with a long lens, were a violation of privacy.

But he insisted they were "innocent photos" and offered the following explanation on why topless women were at his villa. "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," the 72-year-old told RAI. "Do you take a shower in a jacket and tie? These are people bathing in a jacuzzi inside a private house meant for guests."

Mr Berlusconi has already denied having a "spicy relationship" with Ms Letizia, rumours of which were sparked when he attended her 18th birthday party.

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