A film starring Amanda Knox, the American student awaiting trial for the murder of Meredith Kercher, has caused a political row, with rightwing politicians claiming the Perugia prison where Ms Knox is held is "like a holiday camp".

Pietro Laffranco, a Parliamentary deputy in the ruling centre-right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi, said he was tabling a question in Parliament to the Minister of Justice to demand an explanation over "this extremely serious incident".

Laura Allegrini, another centre-right deputy, said she suspected the filmmakers had "used the world's media to get free publicity". What had started as a project for the rehabilitation of prisoners had become a "spectacle", Ms Allegrini said.