Parliament speaker would have done 'exactly same' as prosecuted predecessor

The Catalan parliament speaker, Roger Torrent, said he would have done "exactly the same" as his predecessor, Carme Forcadell, who is facing rebellion charges for having allowed debates and votes on independence in 2017.

Testifying before Spain's Supreme Court as witness during the trial against Forcadell and other officials, Torrent said she "could not have done anything else" other than accept the debates.

"The parliament bureau can't act as a censor body," he said.

Torrent also said that laws such as the one providing a legal framework for the transition towards an independent Catalonia "never came into effect."

"We will vote again"

He also referred to the October 1, 2017 referendum.

"If demonstrating or calling a referendum is on trial, there should be thousands of people sitting in the dock, starting with me," he said, expressing a similar point as Barcelona's mayor Ada Colau.