CATALAN Foreign Affairs Minister Raul Romeva has thanked The National for its role in support for his people’s independence referendum.

The former MEP also thanked readers of this newspaper for declaring their solidarity with Catalonia during the “sad events” that surrounded the October 1 vote, which saw Spanish police attack citizens at polling stations and confiscate ballot boxes.

READ THE FULL LETTER: Catalonia is grateful for National readers' support

Images of bruised and bloodied members of the public were seen around the world. But despite this, European leaders have failed to condemn Spanish authorities for using force against unarmed voters.

Romeva, whose brief also includes institutional relations and transparency, underlined the willingness of the Catalan Government to hold talks with Madrid. But as officials continue to work out their next steps, the politician has reached out to supporters in Scotland, saying: “On behalf of the Catalan Government, I would like to thank The National and all the readers for all your support to Catalonia’s right to hold a democratic referendum for self-determination. The Catalan Government will continue working to find a peaceful and democratic solution to its citizens’ demands.”

As a newspaper that supports independence and the right to vote, The National has devoted extensive coverage to the situation in Catalonia. In the run up to the non-binding referendum, which Madrid declared illegal, we published a double-page Si poster and launched our #ScotsForCatalonia hashtag on Twitter, encouraging readers to post their pictures with the image, which declared: “We support Catalonia’s right to choose.”

Former First Minister Alex Salmond was amongst scores of Scottish politicians to take part, with hundreds of others also contributing.

In the aftermath of the shocking events of referendum day, we devoted our entire front page to “Spain’s Day of Shame” as we detailed how rubber bullets were fired on crowds, and also carried the testimonies of eyewitnesses.