ITALIAN TV SHOW ON DRUG-TAKING MPS PULLED FROM SCHEDULES

A television programme that purports to show widespread drug use
among Italy's MPs was scrapped before transmission last night amid
uproar over both the results and the methods used to entrap the
politicians.

In a classic sting operation some 50 politicians were fooled into
thinking they were being interviewed about aspects of next year's
draft budget, currently before parliament. Instead, a make-up artist
with a satirical TV show swabbed their eyebrows to get a sample of
their perspiration, which was then tested for traces of cannabis and
cocaine. Twelve allegedly tested positive for cannabis and four for
cocaine, all apparently taken in the 36 hours before being approached.

Although the 16 have not been named, Le Iene (The Hyenas), well-known
for spoofs that embarrass public figures, was cancelled over claims
that the privacy of the politicians had been invaded.

Davide Parenti, head of the programme team, was angry that the show
had been axed and denied that anyone's privacy had been invaded. He
said the samples taken from the MPs had been gathered without their
names being attached and the programme had not planned to identify
anyone. The politicians would have been seen in shadow, with their
voices camouflaged.

"The spirit of the programme is not to persecute any one person but
to be the mirror of Italy." He said the results of the tests were "in
line with national statistics" which show drug use is common in Italy.

Italy's politicians reacted angrily to the stunt, however, and many
questioned the accuracy of the tests. The former president of the
lower house, Pierferdinando Casini, said: "The value of this
experiment is precisely zero." He added that the problem of drug use
was nothing to joke about.

Paolo Gambescia of the Olive party said: "Even if the names aren't
revealed, this makes us all suspects."

Italo Bocchino of the rightwing National Alliance called for the
destruction of the samples taken from MPs. He said programme makers
should be "severely punished for being in illegal possession of the
DNA of 50 parliamentarians".

But the rightwing politician Alessandra Mussolini demanded that the
names of the MPs be made public: "Enough of double standards. If
there is a law that punishes the use of drugs in this country it is
not right that politicians should take them. What example does this
give to our young people, what does this do to the credibility of
parliamentarians?"

A leftwing MP, Franco Grillini, one of the MPs interviewed by the
programme makers, who purported to represent Fox TV, said he was not
among those who tested positive, because the last time he smoked
cannabis was when he was 16. "I knew something was suspect as soon as
I was approached by the TV crew. The girl had something hidden in her
hand when she wiped my brow," he said. "It was obvious they weren't
in the least interested in talking about the finance laws because
they didn't listen to what I had to say."

He said he had no idea if the tests - conducted with a device called
Drugswipe, which can be bought on the internet and is used by German
and Swiss police - were reliable.

Asked about drug-taking among Italian MPs, he said he knew
politicians who smoked cannabis in their own homes. "In my opinion
the idea of one parliamentarian in three who has consumed some type
of drug, above all light ones, is realistic. On cocaine, frankly, I
don't know. It's more of a rightwing thing."

Italian politicians have a long history of drug misdemeanours. In
2003 the former prime minister Emilio Colombo admitted that he had
purchased cocaine after his drug dealer was arrested but said it was
for "therapeutic purposes".

Last year, during a debate on Italy's drug law, former deputy prime
minister Gianfranco Fini admitted having smoked a joint once while he
was on holiday in Jamaica; Pierferdinando Casini also said he had
tried the drug, prompting former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to
joke: "While those two were taking drugs, I was working."

Le Iene is shown on Italia 1, a channel owned by the Berlusconi
family. Last night's show had been due to open a new season of the
cult TV programme, which has gained a big following in Italy.