TESSA JOWELL’S husband, who faces a corruption trial in Italy alongside the prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, acknowledged in a letter to his accountant that he had kept the premier “out of a great deal of trouble” by not revealing all he knew about his affairs.

Prosecutors in Milan last week ended their inquiry into whether Berlusconi, a billionaire, bribed David Mills, a lawyer, to give false testimony and are expected to recommend next month that both be sent for trial.

Berlusconi is accused of ordering payment of at least £350,000 to the culture secretary’s husband to give false testimony in two trials against him in 1997 and 1998.

In a letter to his accountant Bob Drennan at the firm Rawlinson & Hunter — obtained by prosecutors and dated February 2, 2004 — Mills referred to “the B people” and wrote: “They also knew quite how much the way in which I had been able to give my evidence (I told no lies, but I turned some very tricky corners, to put it mildly) had kept Mr B out of a great deal of trouble.”

In his letter Mills wrote that, at the end of 1999, after he had given evidence, he was told he would receive money he could treat as a long-term loan or gift. A sum of $600,000 (£350,000) was put in a hedge fund and Mills was told it would be there if he needed it.

When shown the letter by prosecutors in Milan, Mills said re-reading it upset him greatly. According to the transcript of the 10-hour hearing, which began on July 18, 2004, Mills said the letter was “extremely eloquent” and needed little explanation.

Mills told investigators he had written the letter to answer demands from UK tax authorities. He said Carlo Bernasconi, an executive in Berlusconi’s Fininvest media group, told him: “Berlusconi, as a mark of gratitude . . . had decided to allocate a sum of money to me.”

Mills amended his explanation in a memorandum sent to prosecutors on November 7, 2004. According to the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera yesterday, Mills said he had been asked to look after the sum on behalf of a client, Diego Attanasio.

Defence lawyers in the Milan probe have 20 days to submit new evidence, failing which the prosecution is expected to recommend Berlusconi and Mills go on trial.

This weekend Mills said: “That letter was written to get advice on a tax point. It created an imaginary scenario. I never expected it to fall into the hands of prosecutors. It is embarrassing it has done so but that does not make it factual. I provided to the Italians information which identifies the source of the payment. The allegation of corruption is nonsense.”

Mills said he would put in a rebuttal within the 20-day limit and would attend the trial. Asked about the impact of the controversy on his wife, he said: “I am absolutely mortified.”

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