An Italian member of the European Parliament has described some ideas of Norway's self-confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik as "good" and in some cases "excellent," the BBC said.
Mario Borghezio, who belongs to the anti-immigration Northern League party, a partner in Italy's government coalition, condemned Breivik's attacks that killed 76 people last week, but supported his position against Muslim immigration to Europe.
"Some of the ideas he expressed are good, barring the violence. Some of them are great," Borghezio was quoted by BBC as saying in an interview with Italy's Il Sole-24 Ore radio station.
Borghezio agreed with Breivik's "opposition to Islam and his explicit accusation that Europe has surrendered before putting up a fight against its Islamicisation".
His comments sparked strong criticism both from the Italian opposition, who has called for his resignation, and fellow European parliamentarians, the British broadcaster said.
Nikki Sinclaire, who resigned last year from the European Parliament umbrella group that included her UK Independence Party, as well as Italy's Northern League, over the latter's "racist" ideas, described Borghezio's comments as "shocking and, if accurately reported, reprehensible."
Borghezio is not the first right-wing politician to defend some of Breivik's views. A member of France's far-right National Front party has been suspended after posting a comment on his blog in which he described the Norwegian attacker as "the main defender of the West," the BBC said.
During a closed hearing at a Norwegian court on Monday, Breivik, 32, admitted to carrying out a bombing in Oslo that killed eight people, and a mass shooting at a Labor Party youth camp on the nearby island of Utoya, which left 68 dead.
According to police and court officials, Breivik said the attacks were "atrocious but necessary" measures intended to "save Norway and western Europe" from a "Muslim takeover."
Norwegian Prosecutor Christian Hatlo said on Tuesday that if charged with crimes against humanity, Breivik could face up to 30 years in prison. In line with the laws in Norway, a court's verdict could be revised as many times as possible and therefore the prison sentence could be prolonged as well.
