Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has found himself back in the spotlight at the start of legal considerations over whether to proceed with a charge that he bribed a British lawyer.

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, seen here, has found himself back in the spotlight at the start of legal considerations over whether to proceed with a charge that he bribed a British lawyer. [AFP\File]

A court in Milan, led by judge Fabio Paparella. was scheduled to begin its hearings into whether there is enough evidence to charge and try the colourful 69-year-old with corruption over a 600,000-dollar (465,000-euro) payment he made to lawyer David Mills.

Prosecutors in Milan formally lodged charges against the two men in March, saying that Berlusconi bribed Mills into giving favourable evidence in two 1997 corruption trials relating to his business dealings.

They claim to have evidence to show that the payment, made in 1997 by Berlusconi's family firm Fininvest, served to presuade the lawyer to give false evidence.

Berlusconi and Mills both deny the allegations of bribery.

The case has also attracted international attention because Mills is the estranged husband of British Culture and Sports Minister Tessa Jowell.

The latest accusation against Berlusconi, that of bribing a witness, is linked to an inquiry opened in 2003 into possible tax evasion and misappropriation in a sale of film and television rights to the United States.

Prosecutors investigating the allegations suspect legal fees may have been inflated artificially, using intermediary organisations, to evade tax.

Following initial hearings, which could take several months to complete, judge Paparella will decide whether the prosecutor's office should proceed with his case.

Earlier this year Italy's former prime minister accused politically motivated magistrates of "plotting" against him and claimed the timing of the prosecution's moves was designed to influence the electorate ahead of the polls held in April.

"It's absurd that while I work day and night there are public officials plotting against the prime minister. It's an infamy," he said.

However, prosecutors denied timing the case to coincide with the election campaign, which Berlusconi's centre-right coalition lost, saying they feared the case would lapse under Italy's statute of limitations if the charges were not brought now.

Berlusconi has already faced trial on eight occasions and been found guilty three times, in 1997 and 1998, on charges of corruption, fraud and illegally financing political parties, but the verdicts were either overturned on appeal or became void because of time limits on prosecution.