Moment enormous brawl breaks out in Italian parliament with MP 'leaving in a wheelchair' after being punched during row over regional autonomy

This is the shocking moment a mass brawl broke out in the Italian parliament resulting in one MP leaving in a wheelchair after being punched.

A row erupted into the fistfight over a controversial government proposal that opponents say will further impoverish the country's poorer south.

One opposition politician was taken to hospital, reports said.

Video of the fight on Wednesday showed politicians converging on Leonardo Donno, of the 5-Star Movement, who opposes the changes.

He tried to hand an Italian flag to regional affairs minister Roberto Calderoli.

This is the shocking moment a mass brawl broke out in the Italian parliament resulting in one MP leaving in a wheelchair after being punched

Video of the fight on Wednesday showed politicians converging on Leonardo Donno, of the 5-Star Movement, who tried to unfurl an Italian flag in front of Roberto Calderoli

This sparked other MPs to converge on Donno, who was pulled away from the other MP

Mr Calderoli, a firebrand politician from the Lega party with northern roots, drafted the contested expansion of regional autonomy which would mostly benefit regions like Lega strongholds of Veneto and Lombardy. A row over the proposal is what led to the brawl

Mr Calderoli, a firebrand politician from the Lega party with northern roots, drafted the contested expansion of regional autonomy which would mostly benefit regions like Lega strongholds of Veneto and Lombardy.

Italian media reported that Mr Donno was taken to hospital after being hit in the head and the chest.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, interviewed on Italy's Sky TG24 channel, expressed disappointment at the scene in parliament.

'I have no words,' he said. 'We need to set another example, not punches to resolve political problems. It's not braggadocio, it's not shouting, it's ideas that need to be explained well to persuade voters.'

Donno later spoke to the media after leaving hospital.

'I have the medical report with me,' he said. 'They kicked me. A fist hit me straight in the sternum.' Reading the medical report, he said: 'During the session he received a blow to the sternum, having difficulty breathing for a few seconds, without losing consciousness. Transferred to intensive care, vital parameters normal.'

Italian media reported that Mr Donno was taken to hospital after being hit in the head and the chest in the middle of the brawl

It was not clear from the footage (pictured) who was responsible for the punch, but Donno blamed another MP called Igor Iezzi

He also recalled the brawl, telling reporters that it was another MP named Igor Iezzi of the Northern League party who punched him.

'I took a punch from deputy Iezzi, others tried like Mollicone, Candiani,' Donno said.

'Then many others arrived, the shop assistants... I collapsed, I felt pain in my chest and I was struggling to breathe. I was certainly scared but luckily I'm fine now, they did an electrocardiogram and I'm fine.'

The 5-Star Movement called the brawl a 'shameless act' and said that 'immediate measures' should be taken again Iezzi and other instigators.

'An act of violence never seen in a parliamentary chamber,' said Chiara Braga, deputy of the Democratic Party.

Iezzi defended himself, saying: 'A punch? I tried to give it but you can see from the video that I didn't hit it . Donno tried to attack Minister Calderoli, if he had only given him the flag the clerks would not have intervened.

'I had my reaction, but you can see from the videos Donno falls like a pear ten seconds after I walk away. There was no physical violence. 

The 5-Star Movement called the brawl a 'shameless act' and said that 'immediate measures' should be taken again Iezzi and other instigators

The proposal that led to the brawl would give additional regions expanded autonomy in specific functions, a move that the opposition says will further increase the north-south divide in Italy.

Currently, five regions have autonomy, which in part reduces the tax revenue due to the central government in Rome.

They range from Trento-South Tyrol in the north, which is comprised of the autonomous provinces of Trento and South Tyrol, to Sicily in the south.

The other three are Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the north-east, Aosta in the north-west, and the island of Sardinia.