The captain of the Costa Concordia has called the cruise ship disaster that cost 32 lives a "banal accident" in a TV interview for which he was reportedly paid £55,000 (NZ$107,000).
Francesco Schettino, 52, said he did not believe the incident was a crime, and claimed that at the timehe was not in charge of the ship - although it later emerged he had told a senior colleague: "I ****ed up."
He is accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship after the luxury liner, carrying 4,000 passengers and crew including 30 Britons, struck a rock and capsized off the Italian island of Giglio in January.
The hour-long interview was broadcast on Italy's Canale 5, owned by ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. The channel was bombarded with complaints over the alleged fee, although it denied handing over any cash.
Schettino was dubbed Captain Coward after he said he had "tripped and fell" into a lifeboat while dozens of passengers were still on board the Concordia. In the interview he said the incident was "a banal accident in which there was a breakdown in the interaction of human beings".
He claimed his decision to delay giving the order to abandon ship for more than an hour had saved lives, though maritime experts have said it meant that by that time the lifeboats could not be launched properly.
Asked why he had refused demands from the coastguard to go back on board, Schettino replied: "He asked me to do something that could not be done. I would have had to swim 300 metres and try to keep my mobile dry because I was co-ordinating the rescue."
He apologised for the tragedy, but added: "For a captain to lose a ship is a pain that cannot be measured."
Prosecutors said the interview contained "embarrassing lies".
