Rome - "Is a loada bollox," the editor of Italy's best selling Corriere Della Que Sera Sera thundered this afternoon.
Rival Italian red tops are not so sure, however, and continue to probe reports that the captain of the stricken vessel 'may be Henri Paul's son' following a tip-off from the usual sauces.
Meanwhile a rival cruise company's inhuman resources division has commented that Captain Francesco Schettino's profile looks a bit like Princess Diana chauffeur's 'when viewed from the left'.
Henri Paul notoriously piled into the Pont d'Alma tunnel during a drunken burn-up with some nasty paps in a DUI disaster some still think has been systematically whitewashed over.
Tonight major elements of the Italian media refuse to be fobbed off with partial excuses amid increasing pressure for a DNA probe... not to mention proper toxicology tests.
Mohammed Fayed is 69.
