"The controversy surrounding Tessa Jowell's husband deepened yesterday after three prominent Italian businessmen denied his claims that they were the source of an alleged $600,000 (£346,000) bribe.
David Mills, a leading tax lawyer and the husband of the Culture Secretary, is accused by the Italian authorities of receiving money from the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, in exchange for giving false evidence on his behalf in two corruption trials during the 1990s.
But he denies the charges, claiming that he has been guilty only of acting like a "complete idiot".
Mr Mills was forced on to the defensive on Sunday after the publication of a leaked letter to his accountant apparently confirming he had received $600,000 as a long-term loan or gift from the "B organisation", in return for providing favourable evidence for the Italian premier.
But he alleged the money received in 1999 through an offshore fund, Struie, based in the British Virgin Islands, had in fact come from an Italian client, the shipbuilder Diego Attanasio. The letter was merely a hypothetical scenario to get tax advice, he said.
But it has emerged that Mr Attanasio told Italian prosecutors he was in prison on bribery and corruption charges at the time the money was paid to Mr Mills."
I have no real idea what this story is all about, but it seems a less than sensible idea for the husband of a cabinet minister to be involved. Every day, the net appears to be drawn tighter and tighter.
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