Pirelli chairman to face 'spying' trial

Reports from Reuters say that the chairman of Pirelli, Marco Tronchetti Provera, will face trial over a long-running probe into alleged use of Telecom Italia data to snoop on Italy's elite.

Milan prosecutors have probed Tronchetti Provera for allegedly receiving stolen phone data in 2004, judicial sources said, adding that the first hearing is scheduled for February 18.

A lawyer for Tronchetti, who was head of the telecoms group at the time of the alleged crime, said he was confident the trial would show his client had not committed any wrongdoing.

Tronchetti headed Telecom Italia from 2001 to 2006. In the past he has repeatedly said Telecom Italia had reported the suspected abuse to the authorities and had seen its reputation damaged as a result.