Chief Berlusconi ally quits

Scajola has come under pressure to resign in the past

Italy's Interior Minister, Claudio Scajola, has resigned amid a major spat in Rome sparked by his unflattering description of an assassinated government aide.

Mr Scajola, a close ally of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and a member of the same Forza Italia party, has been under fire for allegedly calling murdered labour adviser Marco Biagi "a pain in the arse", and for his handling of the investigation into the murder.

He had initially said he would resign on Sunday after heavy criticism from both the opposition and members of the cabinet, but Mr Berlusconi rejected the offer.

Biagi had asked for police protection

Giuseppe Pisanu, currently the minister for government programming, said he had been appointed as Mr Scajola's successor.

In the past few days, Mr Berlusconi has come under increasing pressure to explain why he did not accept Mr Scajola's first offer to resign.

"Mr Scajola was perhaps the closest person to the prime minister in the government, so he'll be sorry to see him go," political analyst Claudio Lodici told BBC News Online.

"But more generally, it's a blow for the government because it's the second minister they've lost this year - and that doesn't look good."

In January, the pro-EU Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero stepped down after severe disagreements with the cabinet over European policy.

Controversial reforms

The government had drawn extensively on Mr Biagi's work to draw up bitterly contested labour reforms, enabling employers to more easily hire and fire their workers.

He was murdered in March by guerrillas from the ultra-left Red Brigades, who carried out a string of terrorist attacks in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s.

Mr Biagi had reportedly written frequently to the interior ministry asking to have his police escort reinstated after receiving death threats.

Mr Scajola, who is responsible for Italy's police, had removed the escort last July. He has said that blaming a lack of police presence for a terrorist attack is not a logical response to Mr Biagi's killing.

Apology

However, he did apologise to the murdered man's family for the remarks, in which he implied that Mr Biagi had been badgering the ministry for protection purely in order to prove his importance.

The police investigation into the murder nearly four months ago remains at a standstill. No-one has yet been brought to justice for the crime.

The opposition has accused the government of inconsistency for declaring its support for the US campaign against terrorism while apparently failing to find the perpetrators of domestic attacks.

It was not the first time that Mr Scajola had come under pressure to resign.

He also came under fire for the policing of the riots at the G8 Genoa summit last year, in which there were widespread allegations of police brutality.