Barcelona protest LIVE: Carles Puigdemont manhunt as crowds teargassed in Spanish city

in 47 mins12:37 John Varga

The Catalan transit authority says traffic jams are forming as a result of the police roadblocks set up to capture fugitive Carles Puigdemont.

Video clips show huge tail backs on roads.

in 40 mins12:30 John Varga

Carles Puigdemont is likely to be transferred to Madrid to appear before the Supreme Court, if captured.

A judge will then decide whether to send him to prison until trial, or release him on bail.  

in 37 mins12:27 John Varga

Puigdemont's appearance was timed to coincide with a parliamentary vote to chose the next President of Catalonia.

Socialist Salvador Illa is one of the candidates seeking the nomination and was due to give a speech to fellow MPs on Thursday in a bid to secure their votes.

Puigdemont said on Wednesday that electing Illa would put an end to 14 years of separatist governments.

He announced his intention to vote in the election. As he was elected to the parliament last May, the former Catalan President is legally able to cast a vote.

However, it appears Puigdemont never made it inside the parliament building.

Puigdemont addresses supporters (Image: Getty)

in 22 mins12:12 John Varga

Pedro Sanchez introduced an amnesty law for Catalan nationalists.

Spain's Congress eventually passed the legislation by a wafer thin majority at the end of May. 177 lawmakers voted in favour and 172 against.

The law seeks to withdraw pending legal action against Catalan nationalists for separatist activities, including the 2017 referendum and failed independence bid.

However, the country’s judiciary is refusing to apply the amnesty to Puigdemont.

2 mins ago11:48 John Varga

Pedro Sánchez has been blamed for the reappearance of Carles Puigdemont.

Alicia García, the senate People's Party leader, said the Spanish PM was responsible for the “shame and indignation” caused by the former Catalan president’s appearance.

Pedro Sanchez has been blamed for the appearance of Puigdemont (Image: Getty)

11 mins ago11:39 John Varga

Puigdemont reappeared in Barcelona in front of hundreds of cheering supporters on Thursday outside the Catalan parliament.

He appeared on a stage next to the city’s Triumphal Arch, with supporters forming a human barrier around him. 

The separatist leader told his supporters: “Despite all the efforts to do us harm, I have come here today to remind them that we are still here and that we do not have to give up. Long live Free Catalonia!”

The politican then vanished.

He said the independence dream lives on (Image: Getty)

16 mins ago11:34 John Varga

Catalan police are stopping and searching vehicles heading towards the French border.

There are also traffic controls around Barcelona's city centre following reports that Carles Puigdemont was seen leaving in a car.

The hunt for the Catalan spatarist leader has been dubbed Operation Jaula (cage)

22 mins ago11:28 John Varga

Dozens of Catalans have reportedly been injured by Spanish auxiliary police, who are using pepper spray to try and disperse the crowds, as well as beating people with batons.

Images on X social media show fierce clashes between police and Puigdemont supporters.

33 mins ago11:17 John Varga

Carles Puigdemont is a Catalan politician and journalist from Spain.

A former mayor of Girona, he served as President of Catalonia from 2016 to 2017.

However he was forced to flee Spain in 2017 after authorities ordered his arrest for organising the region’s illegal independence referendum.

He found refuge in Waterloo, just outside Brussels. From there he led the Catalan independence movement’s presence on the international stage, by becoming a Member of the European Parliament in 2019.

An arrest warrant in his name remains in force, meaning he can only enter Spain covertly.