The 'Queen bee' at centre of Berlusconi sex scandal says she was smitten with the Prime Minister. Nick Squires reports from Rome on Sabine Bergan's toe-curling account.
A woman at the heart of a sex scandal involving Silvio Berlusconi has denied recruiting prostitutes for the Italian prime minister's so-called "bunga bunga" parties.
Sabina Began, a former men's magazine model, is one of eight people accused of aiding and abetting prostitution by arranging for around 30 alleged escorts to attend parties at his homes in Rome, Milan and Sardinia.
She told the Italian edition of Vanity Fair magazine that she fell for Mr Berlusconi during a visit to his villa in Sardinia in the summer of 2005 and subsequently became part of his inner circle, helping to organise his frequent soirees.
One of them, in 2008, was attended by George Clooney, who was in Rome to raise awareness of the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan's Darfur region.
Miss Began was pictured with an arm around the Hollywood actor and the other around the prime minister, who turns 75 today.
Earlier this year, Clooney was named as a potential witness for Mr Berlusconi in a trial in which the prime minister is accused of abuse of office and paying for sex with an under-age nightclub dancer.
He expressed surprise, saying he had only met Mr Berlusconi once.
In the interview with Vanity Fair, Miss Began, known by the Italian press as the Queen Bee of the prime minister's inner circle, said: "I've never told anyone to prostitute themselves. The role of my girls was to be easy on the eye, full stop. I said to the magistrate - neither sex nor money was involved."
She said she fell for Mr Berlusconi after being flown to his Sardinian villa in a private jet.
"He was romantic, it was a marvellous night. I was in love. He's the only man who's made me feel like a woman," she said.
Mr Berlusconi's trial resumes on Monday.
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