Police were warned about Berlusconi attacker before assault that left Italian PM with broken nose

Detectives in Milan are investigating claims made on an Italian TV show that two brothers had noticed Massimo Tartaglia, 42, acting suspiciously before the incident and had reported him to police.

The two men told the programme that they had seen Tartaglia standing near the rostrum ‘muttering incoherently and saying he was waiting for Berlusconi.’

One of them added: ‘We called a police officer over and told him and pointed him out but he didn't seem at all interested and just went back to his post.

‘Later that night we both saw Tartaglia on TV and recognised him as the man we had told police about. 

'If the police officer had acted on what we said, it’s possible this could have been avoided.’

A police spokesman in Milan said: ‘We have been in touch with the programme and have asked them to provide the details of these two men so that we can speak to them about what they saw and heard that evening.

Tartaglia was captured by TV cameras as he threw a heavy souvenir model of Milan Cathedral at Berlusconi, 73, following a political rally in the city.

It left the politician with two broken teeth, fractured nose and split lips and gums which caused him to lose almost a pint of blood, doctors treating him in hospital said.