WELL, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DEFINE “SEXUAL ASSAULT” DOWN:

A photo of a female protester kissing an Italian riot policeman hailed as an emblematic image of peace in Italy, has not gone down well with a police union, which wants the protester prosecuted for sexual violence. . . .

“We have accused the protester of sexual violence and insulting a public official,” said Franco Maccari, the union’s general secretary. “We fully expect an investigation to start.”

Mr Maccari said he was not prepared to brush off the incident as a peaceful gesture.

“If the policeman had kissed her, world war three would have broken out,” he said. “Or what if I had patted her on the behind? She would have been outraged.

“So if she does that to a man on duty, should it be tolerated?”

Miss De Chiffre has also done her bit to spoil the photo’s apparent message of non-violence, claiming she was trying to provoke the officer into reacting.

“No peace message,” she wrote on Facebook. “I would hang all these disgusting pigs upside down.”

Charming.