The embattled Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi insists he will not answer questions about paid escorts at parties at his homes.

There has been a growing number of calls for Berlusconi to reveal all or resign, after a former showgirl claimed she had been paid by a Bari businessman to attend dinners at the prime minister's Rome residence, receiving an extra fee if she stayed the night.

Speaking in Brussels at the end of the EU leaders' summit, Berlusconi said there was "nothing to clarify. It's all very clear, it's all rubbish. I already got rid of the rubbish in Naples and I'll do the same with this."

But Deputy House Speaker Rosy Bindi, of the center-left Democratic party, said, "Either Berlusconi explains what happened or he must go."

Meanwhile, Antonio Di Pietro, leader of the Italy of Principles party, called for a no confidence vote in parliament, describing Berlusconi as a modern-day Nero whose "weakness" for women left him open to blackmail.

Berlusconi, undergoing his second divorce, was also asked to clarify his position by the Catholic newspaper Avvenire. But government politicians closed ranks around the prime Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa told the newspaper Il Giornale that he "categorically excluded" the possibility that Berlusconi would be forced to quit as a result of the row.

"Everyone (behind) ... this campaign of false and libelous accusations against the prime minister ... is going to be disappointed," La Russa said, backing the claim that it is an attempt to smear Berlusconi's image before Italy hosts next month's G8 summit.

Bari prosecutors have opened an investigation based partly on wiretapped conversations into whether payments allegedly made to women by a local entrepreneur, Gianpaolo Tarantini, to attend parties "in exclusive locations in Rome and Sardinia" were an "induction into prostitution".

Berlusconi's lawyer has said even if the allegations were true the prime minister would be only the "end user" of the women and therefore not criminally liable.

SG/SME/HAR