Catalonia says it will defy orders from Spanish govt if direct rule is imposed

The Spanish government has invoked special constitutional powers to fire the regional government and force elections to counter an independence drive. A vote in the national Senate to implement direct rule is due on Friday.

But leaders of the secessionist campaign said a referendum on 1 October, in which 43 per cent of the electorate voted, gave them a mandate to claim independence from the rest of Spain.

"It's not that we will refuse [orders]. It is not a personal decision. It is a seven million-person decision," Catalonia's foreign affairs chief Raul Romeva told BBC News.

Romeva was asked whether he believed all institutions, including the police, would follow orders from Catalan institutions rather than obey the Spanish government.

"And from that perspective, I have no doubt that all civil servants in Catalonia will keep following the instructions provided by the elected and legitimate institutions that we have right now in place [in Catalonia]," he said.

Catalan authorities said about 90 per cent of those who took part in the referendum voted for independence. But only 43 per cent of the electorate and 1 in 3 Catalans participated, with most opponents of secession staying at home.

The crisis over the wealthy Catalan region has raised fears among European countries of a spillover to other parts of the continent.