Italian opposition leaders on Wednesday called on Silvio Berlusconi to resign as prime minister after a court accused him of having paid his UK lawyer, David Mills, to lie to protect his Fininvest business empire in the 1990s.

Mr Berlusconi rejected the accusations contained in a 400-page judgement issued by the Milan court on Tuesday. The prime minister said he would make a statement to parliament while his spokesman, Paolo Bonaiuti, dismissed opposition declarations on Wednesday as a “politically timed attack” ahead of next month’s European and local elections.