Italy's parliament speaker has criticised the Roman Catholic Church for failing to do enough to oppose anti-Semitic race laws in 1938.

Gianfranco Fini, who began his career in a neo-fascist party, was speaking at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the laws.

Vatican Radio quickly reacted by denying his accusations.

The 1938 laws led to the deportation of thousands of Jews to Nazi concentration camps where many of them died.