The prostitute at the centre of the sex scandal involving Silvio Berlusconi says that the Italian Prime Minister offered her a seat in the European Parliament.

Patrizia D’Addario made the claim in an interview published in the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

It followed the release of audio tapes and transcripts last week that purportedly revealed intimate conversations recorded while the couple were having sex.

Mr Berlusconi was criticised strongly this year for proposing a string of attractive female candidates with no political experience, including a soap opera actress and a contestant on the reality-television show Big Brother, to run in the European Parliament elections held in June.

After an outcry led by his estranged wife Veronica Lario, all but one of the women, Barbara Matera, were dropped from the ballot for his People of Freedom party.

In the interview published yesterday, Ms D’Addario discussed the two occasions late last year when she was invited by the businessman Gianpaolo Tarantini to attend the Prime Minister’s official residence.

Ms D’Addario said that the only guests at the first dinner, in mid-October, were Mr Berlusconi, Mr Tarantini and about 20 young women. “It was obvious to me that we were all escort girls. Mr Berlusconi asked the girls if they’d like to work in television, go into politics or to take part in Big Brother (aired by one of his television channels),” Ms D’Addario said.

She said that Mr Tarantini, who is being investigated by prosecutors for alleged corruption and abetting prostitution, paid her €1,000 (£865) and that Mr Berlusconi was to give her another “pay cheque” if she stayed the night with him on November 4.

Ms D’Addario said that she made the second visit to the Palazzo Grazioli, but that the Prime Minister did not pay her. Instead, he promised to help her to resolve an issue over a building permit in the southern city of Bari.

“He didn’t pay me, but he promised to send me two people to take care of a problem I had with planning permission which was blocking a building project,” she said.

“To me that was equal to earning €2,000 extra. That project was really close to my heart and he understood that, so I was satisfied. But that is not what happened. Instead he offered me a seat in the European Parliament.”

Ms D’Addario said in the interview that she no longer worked as a prostitute and was running out of money. She added that she was concerned for her safety after a robbery at her home in Bari.

“I feel very isolated. [Mr Berlusconi] is the most powerful man in Italy. After the burglary of my flat and other things which I cannot mention here, I no longer feel safe,” she said. “I am no longer an escort, my building project is still blocked. I have no money and they took everything I had.”

Ms D’Addario emphasised that she had decided to make the tapes independently. Mr Berlusconi’s allies have suggested that she was ordered to make the recordings, which were published last week on the website of the Italian newspaper L’Espresso, as part of a conspiracy against him.

She said yesterday that since enduring a former violent relationship she never left home without a tape recorder. She concluded that it would be “prudent” to tape her encounter with Mr Berlusconi.

Her interview was published as the Italian newspaper La Repubblica identified Grazia Capone, a 24-year-old model and actress, as being under investigation by prosecutors in Bari for allegedly being hired by Mr Tarantini to attend the Prime Minister’s parties.

“Yes, I went to Berlusconi’s parties. I don’t see anything bad or improper about that,” Ms Capone said.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s lawyer, Niccoló Ghedini, denied that there were any ancient Phoenician tombs on Mr Berlusconi’s Sardinian property, Villa Certosa. The statement was made in an attempt to end speculation about whether they had been reported to cultural authorities.

In 2005 Mr Ghedini accompanied police to a section of the property where vases and necropolises from the 3rd century BC had been found. “That news is true, but no Phoenician tombs were seen,” Mr Ghedini said.

In a tape released last Thursday, Mr Berlusconi was allegedly recorded on a tour of his villa with Ms D’Addario pointing out 30 Phoenician tombs among the property’s assets. Under Italian law, any archaeological finds must be reported within 24 hours.

Glamour roles

Angela Sozio, 36 former contestant on Grande Fratello, the Italian version of Big Brother. She was put in the spotlight two years ago after being photographed hand in hand with Mr Berlusconi

Barbara Matera, 28 Miss Italy contestant and a science graduate. Was the only “showgirl” to have been selected as a candidate in the European elections and took up her seat this month

Camilla Ferranti, 30 trained ballerina who appeared in Incantesimo, an Italian soap opera. Mr Berlusconi called the head of state television to urge him to give her a part in a leading show

Eleonora Gaggioli, 31 television actress best known for her role in Elisa di Rivombosa, a steamy costume drama. The law graduate is also a glamour model

Source: Times database

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