"I had been in legal jeopardy. I hadn't worked for a year, I needed to put my life back together and I needed to pay those bills," Ms Lewinsky said.

When asked if she was now financially comfortable, Ms Lewinsky, now 30 and a handbag designer, said: "No, I'm not."

But Ms Loos said her tell-all media stunts were aimed at clearing her name, not cleaning up financially.

"I was reading so much in the papers that had nothing to do with me and I wanted people to know me for who I am," she told the audience in Edinburgh.

"I was being called a lesbian predator and a gold-digger. Anyone would want to step forward and say 'Hang on, that's not me'."