“The De Angelis case cannot end this way, with an apology directed at the Right (of the political spectrum) more than at the families of the victims,” Lazio PD Secretary Daniele Leodori said.

“Tomorrow we’ll stage a protest at the regional assembly to say we do not accept any form of revisionism.”

Lazio Governor Francesco Rocca on Tuesday confirmed that De Angelis would remain in his job, despite sparking a huge political row with controversial comments about the 1980 Bologna train station bombing.

De Angelis said via social media that he knew “for certain” that three of the five people convicted of the bombing, Giusva Fioravanti, Francesca Mambro and Luigi Ciavardini, former members of the NAR right-wing terrorist group, “had nothing to do with the Bologna massacre”.

He said the August 2 anniversary of the bombing “is always a very difficult day for anyone who knows the truth, which every year is trampled over, even by the highest figures of the State”.

The comments sparked outrage from the parties opposed to Rocca’s right-wing regional executive in Lazio, who said De Angelis was trying to re-write history and called for him to quit or be fired.

“I met Marcello De Angelis late yesterday evening and, after a long reflection and honest and careful discussion, I have decided not to withdraw my faith in him,” Rocca said.

“So he will stay in charge of the region’s institutional communications.”

On Monday, Rocca said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was “not happy” about the row” adding that De Angelis had made a big mistake, even if he was speaking for himself, and not in an institutional capacity.

Meloni has not publicly commented on the furore.

De Angelis, a former member of the Terza Posizione (Third Position) neo-fascist group, on Monday apologised for the “unease” caused by his comments in a long post on Facebook.

On Sunday he responded to the row by comparing himself to Giordano Bruno, the Italian philosopher burned at the stake in 1600 by the Catholic Church for heresy.

“I said what I think without fear of the consequences,” De Angelis said on Facebook.

“If I have to pay for this and be set alight like Giordano Bruno for having breached a dogma, I am proud to do so.”

ANSA