Scandal rocks Italian political party

A SCANDAL rocked Italy’s main opposition party on the eve of a nationwide primary designed to select a new leader and relaunch the party’s sagging fortunes.

The case centres on widespread media reports that a video shows centre-left politician Piero Marrazzo in the company of a transsexual in a Rome apartment.

Four policemen have been arrested for allegedly attempting to blackmail the 51-year-old Marrazzo, and an investigation is under way.