This is the video at the centre of furious controversy this morning. Italian cops in full riot gear remove their helmets in what was taken to be a sign of solidarity with the so-called ‘Pitchfork’ protesters – a heterogeneous group that includes farmers, lorry drivers and unemployed workers that on December 9 staged demonstrations, some of them violent, in numerous Italian towns and cities. It’s not quite as it seems because the protest had a distinctly right-wing flavour. One of the ‘Pitchfork’ demonstrations was joined by ‘Ultras’ (organised and often far-right football fans).
