Berlusconi given political ban

Italian ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi has been given a two-year political ban by a Milan appeals court following his tax fraud conviction.

The court was ordered by Italy's highest court to determine the length of the political ban accompanying his tax fraud conviction and four-year jail term after prosecutors conceded errors in the original five-year ban.

Berlusconi already is facing the loss of his senate seat after losing his final appeal in the tax fraud conviction this summer under a 2012 law stipulating that anyone convicted to more than two years in prison cannot hold or run for office for six years.

The political bans face parliamentary approval. A Senate committee has approved withdrawing his seat based on the 2012 law, but a vote by the whole chamber is pending.