A former model who testified at Silvio Berlusconi’s sex trial may have died after coming into contact with a radioactive substance, it was reported yesterday, deepening the mystery surrounding a case that has gripped Italy.

Moroccan-born Imane Fadil, 33, died in a Milan hospital on March 1, a month after being admitted with unexplained stomach pains and claiming she might have been poisoned.

Ms Fadil was one of the witnesses who testified at the trial of the former Italian prime minister and media mogul on charges of having sex with an underage prostitute at one of his notoriously hedonistic “bunga bunga” parties.

In January, on one of the last occasions she gave evidence in court, she said she had paid a heavy price for coming forward and that “the truth would come out” in a book she was writing.

“I have always told the truth and I’ve rejected many attempts to corrupt me by Berlusconi and his entourage,” she said “This whole saga started when I was 25 and now I’m 34. I have suffered a great deal compared to those who let themselves be paid off.”