Mariano Rajoy asserts he will defend the sovereignty of all Spaniards "with firmness, determination and through all the legal instruments available"

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The declaration reads as follows:

"Two Parliamentary groups who between them did not obtain a majority of votes in the recent elections to the Regional Parliament of Catalonia have presented a proposed resolution that is in breach of the Spanish Constitution, of the law, of the majority feeling of the people of Catalonia and of the democratic will of the Spanish people as a whole.

This initiative can only be described as a provocation by those that wish to bypass the law, which is quite simply what they plan to do, because they know that the law is not on their side.

The government I head up guarantees and will guarantee that they will not achieve any of their goals and that this proposed resolution, in the event that it is passed by the Regional Parliament of Catalonia, will not take any effect whatsoever.

The State is not going to renounce the use of any of the political and legal mechanisms which, in defence of the sovereignty of the people and general interest of Spain, are attributed thereto by the Spanish Constitution and the law.

Whosoever wishes to separate and divide Catalonia from Spain must be aware that they will not achieve this and they will not do so because they are working against the majority will of the people of Catalonia and of the Spanish people as a whole. They are opposed to the law and to a government prepared to impose this law.

I wish to send out a message of calm to all the people of Spain, and especially to the people of Catalonia. While I am President of the Government, Spain will remain a nation of free and equal citizens. Justice will prevail over senselessness and all of us, I repeat, all of us are subject to the law and to the rulings of our courts.

I have always appreciated politics from a position of dialogue and moderation, but the defence of my country, of the sovereignty of all the Spanish people, of the democracy we have worked so hard to obtain and the harmonious coexistence and solidarity among all the people of Spain is what I will defend and I will defend this with firmness, with determination and with all the instruments available at law. And I will do things this way because it is my responsibility as President of the Government and through my convictions as a Spaniard".