David Mills, the husband of Tessa Jowell, the British Cabinet Minister, was yesterday lambasted by a judge for his unjustified failure to appear at his own trial on bribery charges.

Nicoletta Gandus, the judge, said that Mr Mills should appear when asked to do so at the appointed time, “not when it is convenient to him”.

Mr Mills has been accused of accepting a $600,000 (£300,000) bribe from Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian Prime Minister and Centre Right leader, to give “favourable evidence” for Mr Berlusconi in a corruption case.

Both Mr Mills, 64, and Mr Berlusconi, 70, had been called to appear yesterday. But neither showed up, with Mr Berlusconi saying that he was “too busy with the forthcoming Italian election”, which he is favourite to win.

Prosecutors said that while under Italian law those charged are not obliged to appear, failure to do so when asked “suggests they do not want to justify themselves”.

In a faxed letter explaining his absence, Mr Mills said: “The clamour of the investigation, linked of course to the notoriety of the other individual involved, which is all the greater given the current political events in Italy, leads me reluctantly not to appear before the court of Milan.” He said that he was ready to appear via video conferencing. The judge rejected this.

Times Recommends

• Henning Mankell: ‘If Wallander was alive, I wouldn’t be a friend of his’
• Secret society's skull and crossbones for sale
• Nigerian leader vanishes after medical treatment