Italian court clears Briton Mills in bribery case

Prosecutor Gianfranco Ciani told the court Mills, the estranged husband of Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, did indeed receive the money but conceded that the statute of limitations had expired, as the defence had argued.

The court's ruling is a major victory for Mr Berlusconi, whose own trial in Milan on related corruption charges was put on hold pending the outcome of Mills's final appeal.

Mills was found guilty of corruption in February 2009 and sentenced to 54 months in prison.

Lower court judges ruled he received 400,000 to give false evidence in two 1990s trials to shield Mr Berlusconi and his Fininvest holding company from charges relating to the purchase of US film rights.

An appeals court in October upheld the decision.

Both Mills and Mr Berlusconi have denied wrongdoing, with the premier saying he is the victim of politically motivated prosecutors.

Mr Ciani told the high court yesterday there was no doubt the money changed hands as prosecutors originally charged, but that the crime dated from November 11, 1999, so the statute of limitations had expired.

Previous courts have held that the corruption occurred in February, 2000.

Mr Ciani nevertheless asked the court find in the related

civil portion of the case that Mills did indeed receive the bribe and hold him liable for 250,000 in damages to the government.

In Mr Berlusconi's portion of the case, prosecutors accused the premier of having ordered the payment.

Mr Berlusconi's part of the trial had been put on hold by an immunity law sparing him from prosecution while in office. But the trial resumed in December after Italy's Constitutional Court overturned the law as unconstitutional.

In a bid to get another immunity law on the books, Berlusconi allies in the lower chamber of parliament passed a bill earlier this month that would allow the premier and cabinet ministers to postpone for six months hearings in any trial in which they are implicated.

The measure still requires approval in the Senate, where Mr Berlusconi's conservatives also enjoy comfortable majority.