The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has denied quotes attributed to him in a newspaper report that said he had received information about a plan to attack the Vatican on Christmas Day.
Using an Italian play on words that cannot be accurately translated, Berlusconi said in a one-sentence statement that the journalist who wrote the article for the Libero newspaper had made up quotes. A spokeswoman for his office confirmed that this was his meaning.
No one at Libero was immediately reachable for comment.
One of the quotes attributed to Berlusconi in the article today had him saying that he had received "precise and verified news of an attack on Rome on Christmas Day... A hijacked plane above the Vatican... An attack from the sky."