Documents seized in David Mills’ office and sent to the Italian prosecutor in Milan directly contradict claims by the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that he has never known the British lawyer. In particular, Mills’ notes contain details about a phone call from Berlusconi in November 1995: “When I spoke to Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday [23 November 1995], he insisted on the fact that the latest accusations are politically motivated.” In addition, computer files from Calkin Pattison, responsible for Mills’ finances, reveal that £500,000 from Italian cases could not be collected before the end of Berlusconi’s trial.

La Repubblica also says Italian prosecutors think that this suggests that their collection was conditional on a successful outcome and in particular Mills’ “amnesia” in court.