NICOLA Sturgeon has backed Catalonia’s right to hold a referendum on independence, saying she is concerned about attempts to stop the vote.

The First Minister called for dialogue between the governments of Catalonia and Spain over the planned poll on October 1, which the Spanish Government has declared illegal.

Sturgeon said the Edinburgh Agreement, drawn up by the Scottish and UK governments before the 2014 independence referendum, could act as a template for others.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, she said: “I think most people would agree that the situation in Catalonia is of concern. I hope that there will be dialogue between the Catalan and the Spanish governments to try to resolve the situation.

“That has got to be preferable to the sight of police officers seizing ballot papers and entering newspaper offices. It is of course entirely legitimate for Spain to oppose independence for Catalonia but what I think is of concern anywhere is for a state to seek to deny the right of a people to democratically express their will. The right of self-determination is an important international principle and I hope very much that it will be respected in Catalonia and everywhere else.

“The Edinburgh Agreement is a shining example of two governments with diametrically opposed views on independence nevertheless coming together to agree a process that allowed the people to decide and I think that offers a template that can be used by others elsewhere in the world.”

Sturgeon’s remarks came as a cross-party group of MPs and peers described Spain’s actions trying to prevent the referendum as “an affront to democracy”.

An open letter from members and supporters of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Catalonia said that while its signatories had a range of views on whether or not Catalonia should be independent, they all agreed that the issue should be decided by its people in a democratic and peaceful way.

“Consequently we are extremely disturbed by the measures taken by the Spanish Government to prevent the referendum, agreed to by the Catalan Parliament, taking place on October 1,” it added.

Their letter highlighted the 700 Catalan mayors who face court action for allowing preparations for the vote to go ahead and the seizing of campaign material and ballot papers, along with “threatening to cut off power to polling stations, arresting and charging a newspaper editor accused of aiding the preparations for the referendum and banning a public meeting called in Madrid to discuss the issue”.

The group said the Spanish Government were cracking down further every day, and now had civil guards occupying Catalan Government buildings. Ministers and officials had also been arrested and Madrid had taken control of the Catalan Government’s finances.

“Both King Felipe VI and the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, have publicly called on Catalans not to vote,” they said.

“We believe, however, that the democratic way to proceed would for opponents of Catalan independence to campaign for their position in the referendum. That was the stance of the UK government in respect of the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014.

“This referendum was democratically agreed to by the Catalan Parliament. To attempt to impede or stop it through sanctions, criminal charges and direct action by the Spanish state is an affront to democracy and threatens to embitter relations between Catalonia and the rest of Spain.