The new mayor of Rome has promised to purge the Italian capital of 20,000 illegal immigrants and to raze 85 Gypsy camps

Gianni Alemanno, 50, a firebrand neo-fascist and the first Right-wing mayor of the city since the Second World War, vowed to make Rome secure as he was sworn into office after his election at the weekend. The election of Mr Alemanno confirmed a strong shift to the Right by Italians, who have been sickened by a spate of violent crimes committed by immigrants. Earlier this month, the center-Right leader Silvio Berlusconi was re-elected as prime minister and will form a government in partnership with Umberto Bossi, the leader of the anti-immigration Northern League.