Italians admit 'excessive force' at Genoa

The head of the Italian police, Gianni de Gennaro, has acknowledged that police used excessive force in dealing with demonstrators at the G8 summit in Genoa last month.

Mr De Gennaro told a parliamentary inquiry into the violence at the summit that any illegal actions by policemen would be severely punished.

There were widespread allegations of police brutality during the summit, during which one demonstrator was shot dead by a policeman.

The violence has left many Italian politicians reluctant to host further international meetings.

On Tuesday, the mayor of Naples, Rosa Russo Jervelino, called for next month's planned meeting of Nato defence ministers in the city to be postponed.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service