Conte brands Salvini "despicable" over comments following Rome murder.

Italian premier Giuseppe Conte has said that Rome police will do "everything in their power" to catch those responsible for the murder of Luca Sacchi, a 24-year-old Roman man who was shot in the head following the robbery of his girlfriend on the night of 23 October.

Conte also hit back against the Lega leader and former deputy premier Matteo Salvini who linked Sacchi's murder to alleged funding cuts to the capital's police force.

"If someone allows themselves to exploit such an event as part of an election campaign, I find it despicable", Conte said of Salvini's remarks, adding that Rome was one of Europe's safest cities.

Sacchi, a personal trainer who lived near the scene of the shooting in the Colli Albani area of Rome, was walking along the street when his girlfriend was hit on the back of the head with a baseball bat and her backpack stolen by two men.

When Sacchi reacted in defence of his girlfriend Anastasia, he was shot in the head by the men who fled the scene in a Smart car according to eye-witnesses.

The shooting took place at 23.30 at the junction of Via Teodoro Mommsen and Via Franco Bartoloni, near the John Cabot pub.

Despite undergoing an emergency operation at S. Giovanni hospital, Luca died the next day at 13.00, and his family authorised the donation of his organs.