A Spanish judge has ordered that four prominent members of the Catalan independence movement should remain in custody, including the vice-president of the ousted regional government.

Spain's top court has officially ruled that Catalonia's disputed independence referendum was illegal because a regional law that backed it was against Spain's constitution.

Protesters are gathering for a fresh round of demonstrations in Barcelona to demand the release of two leaders of Catalonia's pro-independence movement who were jailed in a sedition probe.

A top Spanish government official in Catalonia has expressed regret about those injured when police cracked down on people taking part in a banned referendum.

More than a million people gathered today in northeastern Barcelona to demand greater regional autonomy for Catalonia and protest a recent court ruling forbidding the region from calling itself a nation.