Opposition party calls on Catalan president to step down

The head of the People's party (PP) in Catalonia has called for President Quim Torra to resign following the "seriousness" of the incidents outside Parliament on Monday evening, which saw pro-independence protest groups clashing with the Catalan police.

Torra has been under fire from the opposition and sections of the media since he encouraged protest groups to put "pressure" on his government in a speech he gave on the anniversary of the October 1 independence referendum, on Monday morning.

The PP's Xavier García Albiol added his voice to the criticisms of Torra on Tuesday, accusing Torra of being the "big boss" of the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), a pro-independence group behind many of Monday's protests.

Albiol said his party would formally petition Torra's resignation in Parliament this week, while he also called on Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, to break off relations with the Catalan government, which he accused of defending "violence."

The main opposition party in Catalonia, Ciutadans (Cs), also called on Parliament's House Business Committee to make an official statement condemning what they describe as the "violent siege" of the chamber by protesters on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, in Madrid, Ciutadans put forward a motion in the Spanish Parliament calling for Catalonia's self-rule to be once again suspended. Cs leader in Spain, Albert Rivera, said president Torra "incited the radicals" of the CDR in his speech, and made a call "to attack the State."