The Italian Supreme Court sparked widespread outrage in February, 1999, when it upheld a verdict declaring that a woman could not have been raped because she was wearing skin-tight jeans.

A Conservative group led by Alessandra Mussolini, grand-daughter of the Fascist dictator, Benito, described the ruling as "shameful" and urged MPs to take part in a "denim day" under the banner "Jeans: An alibi for rape".

Angela McCracken, who has given advice on countless cases of harassment, warned that Italian-style behaviour would not be accepted under Scottish law.