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Jowell's husband gets jail term for corruption
Nick Pisa in Rome17 Feb 2009
OLYMPICS minister Tessa Jowell's estranged husband David Mills was sentenced to four and a half years jail in Italy today for corruption.
The 64-year-old lawyer was also fined €250,000 (£221,000) by a court in Milan for taking a bribe from Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to give false evidence in two corruption trials. Mills was convicted at the end of a three-year trial on charges of accepting a $600,000 (then £350,000) payment.
Mills will not serve any time in jail as the case will go before two appeal courts before a final sentence is passed and that has to be before February next year, otherwise it passes the deadline for Italy's Statute of Limitations.
Berlusconi was jointly accused with Mills until a law was passed last summer which made senior government figures immune from prosecution.
Prosecutors said Mills used the money on a joint mortgage with Ms Jowell to obtain a property in north London, when details of the case emerged in 2005. The Cabinet minister was later cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation by parliamentary officials.
The case centred on a letter Mr Mills wrote to his accountant Bob Drennan in 2004 which referred to the money as a "gift" and stated that he had saved a "Mr B...from a great deal of trouble."
In a statement after today's verdict, Mills protested his innocence and said he was hopeful he would be cleared on appeal.
Ms Jowell said: "This is a terrible blow to David and, although we are separated, I have never doubted his innocence."
Reader views (7)
'no time in jail' - now there's a surprise ... NOT!
- Marianne, SW France, 06/04/2009 13:14
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Poor man - if only Italy had a branch of our very own CPS it would never have got this far.
- Wills, Soton, 18/02/2009 07:40
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Let's not forget that they were a happily married couple until this scandal hit the media, then suddenly they had separated.
- Casper Slides, France at the moment, 18/02/2009 00:08
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Unfortunately, corruption and new labour being mentioned in the same sentence is par for the course rather than anything abnormal.
Who was it now who said they would 'do away with sleaze' only to seemingly replace it with something else .................incompetent sleaze.
When are we going to have this Government leave office?
What sort of a person is it appointed as a Minister who is not "aware" that her husband has behaved in this way?
- Chris Close, Blanchland UK, 17/02/2009 18:40
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I reckon Jowell should stand by her husband!! and spend 4.5 years with him IN JAIL.
- Den, London, 17/02/2009 17:56
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Ms Jowell said: "This is a terrible blow to David and, although we are separated, I have never doubted his innocence."
They seem to make up he rules to suit themselves as they go along. Caught with snout in wrong trough, and she, after an investigation by 'parliamentary officials' emerged squeaky clean (as only Nulabour politicians know how).
- Saxon, Cowes, 17/02/2009 17:16
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What did Jowell really know of what he was up to? Wonderful how these cheats avoid jail.
- Paul Freeman, London, England, 17/02/2009 17:00
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