Spanish MPs hold signs in protest against the detention of two leaders of pro-independence groups JAVIER LIZON/EPAThe Catalan leader will defy Madrid tomorrow and declare independence in order to provoke the Spanish government into imposing direct rule. Carles Puigdemont will then call regional elections, gambling that a tide of popular resistance against any attempt to impose direct rule would return him to power with a stronger mandate. A source close to Mr Puigdemont said: “We will not back down. Nobody will obey some officials in Madrid.”Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has set Mr Puigdemont a deadline of 10am tomorrow to renounce his declaration of independence or face direct rule. The relevant constitutional clause, article 155, has never been invoked and there is confusion as to how direct ruled would be imposed.…

Source: The Times October 18, 2017 11:03 UTC