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THE Italian Government's inquiry into the handling of the July 20-22 Genoa summit riots has admitted police made tactical errors and used excessive force.But Francesco Lalla, the Genoa prosecutor co-ordinating a parallel judicial investigation into the riots, said it would be difficult to identify individual officers responsible for abuses because they were wearing helmets and visors as part of their riot gear.

The judicial inquiry focused on the raid in the early hours of the last day of the summit on a school being used by the Genoa Social Forum as the nerve centre and sleeping quarters of the protesters, Mr Lalla said.

The raid left the school a shambles, with bloodstains on walls, floors and radiators. The 13 police commanders and 70 policemen who took part in the raid were being questioned but it was difficult to establish who did what, despite testimony from protesters who claim they were beaten during the raid and afterwards in prison, he said.

Police deny having used excessive force and say foreign demonstrators who returned home displaying wounds and bruises had acquired them during the fighting on the streets.

The internal government inquiry, which put pressure on Italy's chief of police to resign, was carried out by three senior inspectors from the Ministry of the Interior. It pointed to "errors and omissions" not only on the part of ordinary policemen but in the chain of command.

The inspectors looked at criticism of the overall policing, in which priority was given to defending the "red zone" around the Ducal Palace, the summit venue, leaving the "yellow zone" outside, in effect, the residential and shopping centre of Genoa, thinly protected by less experienced police and therefore at the mercy of hardline anarchists.

Further details of the Interior Ministry report, including an inquiry into the death of Carlo Giuliani, 23, during the riots, were expected to emerge within hours.

Meanwhile, the Italian parliament yesterday agreed to create a commission of inquiry to look into the Genoa violence.

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