Britain's culture secretary Tessa Jowell is facing possible parliamentary questions about the financial scandal surrounding her husband, after reports that she signed a document which allowed him to bring money from an alleged bribe into the UK.
Ms Jowell confirmed today that she co-signed a mortgage on the stg£700,000 home in Kentish Town which she jointly owns with husband David Mills, but insisted that the deal involved no conflict of interest.
International lawyer Mr Mills is under investigation in Italy over allegations - which he denies — that he took a £350,000 bribe from Silvio Berlusconi in return for evidence he gave at the Prime Minister's earlier corruption trial.
The Italian prosecutor leading the case, Fabio de Pasquale, said today that he would go before a judge in 10 days' time to ask him to indict Mr Mills.
Mr Mills has been embroiled in investigations relating to Mr Berlusconi's complex financial and business empire for several years, but until now there has been no suggestion that Ms Jowell was involved in any way.
But the Sunday Timestoday published a copy of the mortgage bearing her signature — as "Tessa Mills" — alongside that of her husband.
According to documents leaked from the Italian investigation and quoted in the newspaper, Mr Mills told his accountants that "the B organisation" had indirectly placed £350,000 in a hedge fund, which he could regard as a gift or a long-term loan.
Mr Mills wrote that his evidence at the earlier trial had "kept Mr B out of a great deal of trouble" and that "the B people" wanted the money to be made available to him in a discreet way.
The letter states that he then raised around £400,000 to invest in another fund by securing a mortgage on the London property in September 2000. Within a month, the mortgage was paid off, using the £350,000.
In a statement, Ms Jowell said: "I signed a charge over our jointly-owned home to support a loan made to my husband alone by his bank. I am satisfied that no conflict of interest arose out of this transaction in relation to my ministerial duties.
"As is standard practice in relation to legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further."
Mr Mills told the Sunday Timesthat his wife had not been financially involved in the transaction: "If I say to her that I am borrowing money for the short term, which it was, she trusts me enough to know I am doing what I say I am doing."
Shadow leader of the Commons Theresa May told the newspaper: "I'll be querying whether these new revelations relate to matters that should be declared under the ministerial code."
Meanwhile, Mr de Pasquale said that he had sufficient evidence to secure the indictment of Mr Mills. Defence solicitors were given a 20-day period, which ends on March 8th, to respond to evidence he has gathered.
Mr de Pasquale told today's Sunday Telegraph: "As of yet, nothing has been heard from them. So, 20 days from February 16th, I will go before a judge to ask that he indict Mr Mills.
"If the judge accepts that, a trial date will be fixed within 30 days."
Mr Mills could face eight years in jail if he is found guilty of the bribery allegations.
Asked about the report, a Downing Street spokesman said they had no comment on the report.