An investigation has been launched after a new Italian vigilante group unveiled a uniform that brought back echoes of the dark days of Fascism.
The Italian National Guard is one of many vigilante groups that will be sanctioned to start anti-crime foot patrols once a controversial security bill has been passed.
But the group became the centre of a political storm when it emerged that their kit bears a striking resemblance to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's notorious Blackshirt volunteer militia.
Daily Hypocrisy, the paper which wants you to forget it supported Fascism.
We have been accused of wanting to return to the era of the Blackshirts but we are simply giving the people a chance to participate in their security.'
Maurizio Monti, vice president of the Italian National Guard, said: 'We are a properly resgistered group and we will continue until someone can prove that we have broken a crime.
'The imperial eagle has been a symbol since the Roman times and so it's absurd to say it has anything to do with Fascism - if that is the case then all the monuments of Rome bearing the eagle should be pulled down.
'The Italian National Guard is nothing to do with Fascism - Fascism has been confined to history.'
Blah blah, typical fake conservative defence, everybody with any history knows that the MSI is neo-fascist (they attended Mosley's post-war conferences of the "National Party of Europe" for Christ's sake) and anybody with basic named recognition can too (it's lead by Mussolini, the play boy model girl). Note how he doesn't talk about the sun wheel, which is a fully fledged neo-nazi symbol. Fact is Italy never really suppressed Fascism at all, the laws forbidding Fascist symbols are a joke and have never been fully implemented. Just visit Mussolini's grave.