Spain and Catalonia argue for control of regional police

Spain's central government and regional Catalan authorities argued on Saturday over who controls the regional police force that is considered key to the success of a planned independence vote for the north-eastern region.

The Catalan government has already vowed to push ahead with the referendum on October 1, which the Spanish government considers illegal, and on Saturday said it was refusing to hand over control of the Mossos d'Esquadra police force to Spain's Interior Ministry.