Sir Elton John has taken to social media to brand the mayor of Venice as “boorishly bigoted” after the official’s decision to ban books about homosexuality from the city’s primary schools.

The multi-million selling musical veteran, 68, married his long-term partner David Furnish in December 2014, and used his Instagram page to criticise newly appointed right-wing Venetian mayor Luigi Brugnaro for the decision he took in June that all primary schools and nurseries would not be allowed to make books featuring same-sex couples and themes to pupils.

Sir Elton John David FurnishSir Elton John and David Furnish

53 year old Brugnaro told Italian newspaper La Repubblica: “We don't want to discriminate against anyone... but I have to consider the majority of families with a mum and a dad. It is parents who should educate children about these things, not schools.”

But Sir Elton, who has two children (Zachary, 4, and Elijah, 2), has slammed this decision. “Here is one of the Furnish-John family favourite storybooks,” he wrote as a caption underneath the image of the front cover of a book by Todd Parr. “It champions an all-inclusive world where families come in all shapes, sizes and colours. And most importantly that families are about love.”

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“And in the opposing corner we have Luigi Brugnaro, the extremely silly looking mayor of Venice. He's stupidly chosen to politicise children's books by banning titles that touch on same sex families living happily ever after. So instead of encouraging a world based on inclusiveness, tolerance and love, he's championing a future society that's divisive and fosters ignorance.”

Sir Elton, who often stays in the northern Italian city at a flat he owns there according to the Sunday People, wrapped up his tirade by saying: “Beautiful Venice is indeed sinking, but not as fast as the boorishly bigoted Brugnaro.”

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