Senselessness of the Italian in charge defending record (7)
I believe the answer is:
illogic
'senselessness' is the definition.
'the italian in charge defending record' is the wordplay.
'the italian' becomes 'il' ('the' in Italian).
'in charge' becomes 'ic' (abbreviation for 'in charge').
'defending' indicates putting letters inside.
'record' becomes 'log' (logging is a kind of recording).
'il'+'ic'='ilic'
'ilic' placed around 'log' is 'ILLOGIC'.
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for illogic that I've seen before include "which makes no sense" , "Senseless thinking" , "false reasoning" .)