Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Rajoy has tried to distance himself from the accusations swirling around his party

Mariano Rajoy has become the first sitting Spanish prime minister to testify in court as he denied any knowledge of an alleged illegal financing scheme within his Popular Party (PP). For the first time, a prime minister has had to sit down and testify about corruption in his party.”



Two of Rajoy’s predecessors – Adolfo Suárez and Felipe González – were involved in separate trials but only after serving as prime minister. His appearance is in relation to “The Gurtel Case”, Spain’s biggest ever corruption scandal, a trial that involves 37 defendants, including 3 former PP Treasurers, and over 300 witnesses, and one which involves the relationship between business and politics during Spain’s construction boom, which ended when the property bubble finally exploded in 2008.
Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, testify in Audiencia Nacional as a witness in the framework of the investigation into the Gürtel corruption scandal, of the illegal financing of his party. He is the first PM in Spain in service to attend a trial. Although he benefited from this corruption scheme, he denied any knowledge. This situation prompted a no-confidence motion against Rajoy's government, which was debated on 13 June and defeated as expected on 14 June (BBC)