THE remains of fascist dictator Francisco Franco were exhumed from the colossal Valley of the Fallen mausoleum on the outskirts of Madrid today to be reburied in a family crypt.

Cameras and demonstrations were banned for the event, with workers and 22 members of the tyrant’s family the only people allowed to be present — though several hundred fascists rallied nearby, chanting “Viva Franco” and waving flags and symbols from his 1939-75 dictatorship.

The Communist Party of Spain welcomed the decision to remove him, but noted that “we will not bury Franco definitively until we carry out the political, social and economic transformations demanded by the majority.”