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There are lots of girls and I'm no saint, says Silvio
Nick Pisa, in Rome22 Jul 2009
Silvio Berlusconi today spoke for the first time about the sex scandal surrounding him - although his choice of words was questionable.
Speaking hours after tapes of him talking to escort girl Patrizia D'Addario were leaked, the Italian prime minister, 72, said: "There are a lot of pretty girls about. I am no saint but you know that."
Mr Berlusconi has been hit by sleaze accusations for the last three months since it emerged he attended model Noemi Letitzia's 18th birthday party and given her a €6,000 gold and diamond necklace.
Last month it was disclosed that dozens of women had been invited to parties at his official residences. Among them was Ms D'Addario, 42. She is said to have told a friend she was offered €1,000 to spend the night with Mr Berlusconi and that they had sex.
He denied the allegation, saying he could not understand paying for sex "without the thrill of the conquest".
Transcripts of recordings made by Ms D'Addario, in which Mr Berlusconi can allegedly be heard asking her to "wait by the big bed", were published this week. In one, businessman Giampaolo Tarantini, 34, who is said to have recruited the girls for the parties, allegedly tells Ms D'Addario that Mr Berlusconi does not use a condom.
Mr Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini has said the tapes are the "fruit of invention", while the prime minister told aides the best way to tackle the issue was simply to "forget about it and let it die away".
