Berlusconi 'is only concerned with sex', wiretaps reveal

New transcripts are reinforcing fears that the prime minister is distracted as Italy teeters on the edge of a Greek-style financial crash.

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Mr Berlusconi, 74, who has been at the centre of several sex scandals, was the topic of conversation between a newspaper editor and the wife of a businessman who allegedly arranged escorts for parties the politician threw.

Giampaolo Tarantini, 36, and his wife Angela Devenuto, 33, were held by police last week on allegations of extorting £440,000 from Mr Berlusconi in return for keeping quiet about the escorts.

In a leaked telephone transcript, Mrs Devenuto is heard telling editor Valter Lavitola - who is also wanted by police in the blackmail plot - how Mr Berlusconi is "only concerned with sex and nothing else."