Italian center-right government partner the Northern League came under huge pressure last night to expel its MEP, Mario Borghezio, in the wake of a radio interview in which the senior League figure expressed approval of the “ideas” of the Norwegian mass killer, Anders Behring Breivik.

Speaking to Il Sole 24 radio station, Mr Borghezio said, “leaving aside the violence, some of the ideas he expressed are good, some of them indeed are very good . . . such as his opposition to Islam and his explicit accusation that Europe has surrendered before putting up a fight against its Islamicisation”, Irish Times reported.

Anders Behring Breivik, who has admitted being behind Friday's massacre in Norway that killed 76 people, may be brought to trial in 2012. Mr. Breivik is currently charged with terrorism-related crimes, which carry a prison term of up to 21 years, following Friday's bombing and shootings in Oslo and on Utoya island. However, it could be possible to charge Breivik with crimes against humanity, which carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.