ROME—Under-secretary Antonio Gentile announced his resignation in light of recent allegations of censorship pressures put upon the chief editor of a Calabrian newspaper.

 The head of "L'Ora della Calabria”, Luciano Regolo, who immediately summoned a press conference to report on the events, was supposedly asked to withdraw an article which was going to reveal information on the investigation into the politician’s son, accused of malpractice and fraudulent misrepresentation in public office.

 Signor Gentile made his decision known in a letter sent to prime minister Matteo Renzi, president Giorgio Napolitano, and Angelino Alfano, sharing his “bitter reflection” on the latest events, and declaring his intention to return to Calabria to continue his work as secretary there until the magistracy “retracts definitively the inferences to which [he is] victim.” In his long letter, the under-secretary expressed his wish that “light is thrown on the whole incident”, referring to his decision as a “gesture of generosity towards the Country, which should not and cannot linger on a non-existent issue.”    

 The recent appointment of the New Centre-Right senator as under-secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure met with objections and criticism from all fronts, threatening the stability of Renzi’s newly formed government. The controversy surrounding alleged pressures, widely seen as a case of press freedom violation, provoked an outrage amongst members of Mr Renzi’s centre-left Democratic party, who, joined by members of Movimento 5 Stelle, Lega Nord and Forza Italia, all demanded Mr Gentile’s resignation.

 In a reaction to Mr Gentile’s stepping down from his position, the New Centre-Right leader, Angelino Alfano, stressed that the senator’s decision was made “for the common good”, before any notifications from the investigators reached him, and expressed his hopes that, with time, “he will be proven right.”