The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has this afternoon called Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy asking for explanations for the police brutality in Catalonia. The call from the German leader comes after police trying to stop today's referendum have left 465 injured, some of them seriously. The news was announced by the senior editor of the Economy section of Die Welt, one of Germany's most prestigious newspapers.
The German chancellor is just the latest of a number of important European leaders who have commented on today's events in Catalonia, including Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon and the leader of the opposition in the UK Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn.