Spanish prosecutors to bring rebellion charges against Catalan officials

Spain's chief prosecutor José Manuel Maza has called for charges of rebellion, sedition and provocation to be landed on Catalan leaders in the wake of Friday's independence declaration.

The central government invoked Article 155 on Friday with the approval of the Senate, stripping the local authorities of their autonomy and removing Carles Puigdemont as Catalan president.

Puigdemont and other government officials could face criminal charges as a result of their involvement in the organisation of the referendum on 1 October.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Sunday in support of Spanish unity, while pro-independence groups have called for acts of civil disobedience on the part of civil servants.

Madrid has also called for elections in Catalonia on 21 December, with polls suggesting nationalist parties may lose their overall majority in the local parliament.

Spanish foreign minister Alfonso Dastis denied in interviews at the weekend that Madrid was removing Catalan autonomy.

2We are not taking autonomy away from Catalonia. We are just re-establishing it, in fact," he told Sky News.

"Reality is already sinking in, will continue sinking in and they will realise that they cannot do something without the authority of law and they will be usurping authority."

IBEX RALLIES

Reports on Monday suggested several Catalan ministers had turned up for work, with some facing arrest if they do not vacate their offices.

Spanish stocks soared in early trading in response to the losses suffered on Friday. The Ibex 35 was up 1.45% as of 11:15 BST.

"The triggering of article 155 by Madrid in response to the declaration of independence by the Catalonian parliament has not only split Catalonia but it has also made Prime Minister Rajoy’s own position much more precarious, given some unease amongst some members of the Spanish parliament, particularly the Basques," said CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson.

"Later this morning we could get an early indication as to how all this uncertainty in Catalonia has affected the Spanish economy with the latest flash GDP number for Q3, with estimates expecting only a modest slowdown from 0.9% to 0.8%, however given the size of Catalonia’s economy, about 20% of Spanish GDP recent events are likely to act as a significant drag as we head into year end."