Payout for 'anti-gay' driving exam

A court has ruled that the Italian government must pay €100,000 (£80,000) in damages to a man ordered to retake his driving test because he was gay.

Danilo Giuffrida's victory is believed to be the first time the Italian state has been punished for sexual discrimination.

Mr Giuffrida, 26, had told doctors at his medical for military service that he was gay. But they passed on the information to the Italian Transport Ministry, which told him to repeat his driving test or have his licence revoked due to his "sexual identity disturbance".

He retook his test and passed, but the ministry then renewed his licence for one year only instead of the standard 10 because of his homosexuality.

The Defence and Transport Ministries showed "evident sexual discrimination" against Mr Giuffrida, the judge ruled yesterday. This breached his constitutional rights and left him with "a grave sense of mistrust towards the state", said the judge, ordering the ministries to pay damages.

Mr Giuffrida's lawyer hailed the victory as a first, adding that he hoped Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, would "apologise to him on behalf of the state and all Italians".

Mr Giuffrida said the award was "a step forward for civil rights... From now on what happened to me can't happen again."