Shout Allahu akbar and you’ll be shot, Venice mayor warns, by Tom Kington.

The right-wing mayor of Venice has courted controversy by claiming that anyone who yells “Allahu akbar” in St Mark’s Square will be shot.

Luigi Brugnaro said that Venice was safer than Barcelona, where 13 people were killed this month when a terrorist drove a van into pedestrians.

“We keep our guard up,” he said. “If anyone runs into St Mark’s Square shouting ‘Allahu akbar’, we will take him down. …

Mr Brugnaro stuck to his guns after his speech, claiming, “I have never been politically correct, I am incorrect”.

“I would shoot, we would shoot,” he added. “If you want to kill me, maybe I will defend myself.”

hat-tip Stephen Neil