16:45 - Both the Spanish authorities and Catalan police have released more details on the number of polling stations they have closed down today.
- Spanish national police have closed down 46 in total (27 in Barcelona, 6 in Tarragona, 6 in Girona and 7 in Lleida).
- The Guardia Civil have closed another 46 (14 in Barcelona, 12 in Tarragona, 8 in Girona and 12 in Lleida).
- Catalan police, the Mossos, say they have closed 244 polling stations across Catalonia.
To put these numbers in context, the Catalan government says more than 2,000 polling stations were setup across the province for the referendum. The majority remain open.
he tension between Spanish police forces continues in Catalonia.
16:36 - In Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, a municipality around 50km from Barcelona, Guardia Civil officers and Mossos agents were recorded pushing each other as the Guardia Civil raided a polling station.
16:26 - The Labour Party have released a statement on the events in Catalonia today.
Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, said:
Police violence in Catalonia today is shocking, and the Spanish government should take action to end it now.While we believe disputes over sovereignty should be resolved in accordance with rules and laws, and any referendum on these issues needs to be both democratic and fair, it is unacceptable for the Spanish authorities to overreact to today’s events through aggressive police action and the forcible closure of polling stations.
They must respect the right to peaceful protest, and all sides must strive to come together and reach a political solution to this constitutional crisis. Violence of any sort will simply worsen divisions, and make a resolution harder to reach.