The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, launched an attack on The Times yesterday, criticising recent articles focused on his friendship with an aspiring model.

In a series of television interviews, he said that the coverage was inspired by a business dispute with the rival media magnate Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corporation, which is the parent company of this newspaper.

With two days to go before Italians vote in the European elections Mr Berlusconi, 72, said that the coverage was News Corp’s response to his Government’s decision last December to double the amount of VAT levied on Sky Italia, which is part of News Corp, to 20 per cent.

Mr Berlusconi’s Mediaset group owns rival television stations and other media in Italy. “I don’t mean to be nasty, but unfortunately with the VAT episode there was a breakdown in relations with the Sky group and with Murdoch’s group, which has published a series of very critical articles attacking me,” Mr Berlusconi told Canale 5, part of his Mediaset empire.

He is said to have taken particular umbrage at a leader in The Times on Monday entitled “The Clown’s Mask Slips”. Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, also wrote an opinion piece in The Times this week drawing parallels between Mr Berlusconi’s behaviour and that of the Roman Emperor Tiberius.

For the past few weeks, Mr Berlusconi has been dogged by reports surrounding his failure to explain coherently his friendship with Noemi Letizia. After he attended her 18th birthday party in Naples last month Veronica Lario, Mr Berlusconi’s wife, demanded a divorce, saying that she could not stay with a man who “frequents minors”.

Mr Berlusconi’s problems mounted yesterday after investigators launched an inquiry into his possible abuse of office, following a complaint that he used Government aircraft to fly guests, including Ms Letizia and other young women, to his villa in Sardinia for private parties.

Rome prosecutors opened the investigation after a complaint from Codacons, a consumer association, when it emerged that the guests included dancing girls and his personal musician. A decision on whether to bring charges is expected in two weeks.

However, in another television interview with Sky TG24 yesterday, he said that the inquiry was a fruitless gimmick and part of a “mean minded plot by the Left”.

“There is a rule that allows the Prime Minister, when he uses state planes for reasons of security, to take with him people he feels he needs, at no cost,” he said.

Mr Berlusconi used the interview to renew his attack on Mr Murdoch, saying: “I hope it is not the case, but the reason for these attacks seems to me to be linked to our decision to raise VAT to 20 per cent.”

He accused Mr Murdoch of running “adverts against me” over the Sky VAT issue when the increase was required by EU legislation. “There was no other way, we had to put it up,” he said.

He also reiterated that he would not step down and predicted that the People of Liberty (PdL), his ruling party, would win 40-45 per cent of the vote in the European elections. Mr Berlusconi has denied having a sexual relationship with Ms Letizia, vowing to resign if “caught lying”.

A group led by an Italian lawyer has begun collecting signatures for a petition to nominate Mr Berlusconi for the Nobel Peace Prize on the ground that because of his close links to Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, he helped to resolve the conflict over Georgia last summer.

Giammario Battaglia said that no Italian had won the Nobel Peace Prize since Ernesto Teodoro Moneta in 1907. He added that in view of Mr Berlusconi’s achievement, “we think it’s a good moment”.

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