Scottish Resistance ‘occupy’ Spanish consulate over Catalonia

Pro-Scottish independence activists held a protest inside the Spanish Consulate in Edinburgh to back Catalonia’s right to hold a referendum on self-determination.

The Spanish government has declared the planned October 1 vote illegal.

Six members of the Scottish Resistance group went into the consulate building on North Castle Street, Edinburgh on Wednesday.

They unfurled a banner and stayed for a few minutes before leaving.

Police were called to the scene but said no crime had been committed.

James Scott, founder of Scottish Resistance, said: “It was a successful protest, we got into the Spanish consulate.

“We are in full support of the people of Catalonia. The Spanish government are not allowing a free vote to the people of Catalonia.”

The Scottish Resistance have made headlines in recent years thanks to a series of attention-grabbing stunts, including a protest outside the Tunnock’s confectionary factory in Uddingston in a bizarre row over packaging.

In 2016, they issued a ‘Declaration of Glasgow’ on the 696th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, a letter sent by Scottish nobles in 1320 to Pope John XXII to reaffirm the country’s independence.

Copies of the group’s declaration were be sent to Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations.