The royal convict gets a pass to leave prison for Christmas while jailed Catalan leader Oriol Junqueras will stay behind bars despite the European Court of Justice ruling he was entitled to immunity as an MEP. My latest for
@thesundaytimes
A report by a senior British police officer casts doubts on claims of violence before and during the Catalan referendum. Judges did not allow it to be used in trial. Police told court there was violence. My story
My obituary of Neus Català, a life-long opponent of fascism, who fought in the French Resistance and was one of the last survivors of Ravensbrück concentration camp. She and others sabotaged the Nazi war effort in an arms factory
Spain prepares for a historic moment as Franco is exhumed from the Valley of the Fallen, ending a symbol of the dictatorship. But many Spaniards I have spoken to care more about unemployment, the economy, Catalonia.
#Franco
#ValledelosCaidos
UN says Spain must free three Catalan politicians held in prison for over 18 months. Madrid refutes the findings of the report saying it was carried out 'without rigour'. My story for
@thetimes
A year on from the Catalan independence referendum, Raul Romeva, one of nine Catalan politicians facing trial over rebellion charges, tells me from prison how he has no regrets over the vote."I am a political prisoner," he insists. My story for
@thetimes
Fresh embarrassment for Spain's royal family as Juan Carlos' former mistress claims the king tried to hide money and buy properties abroad. My story for
@thetimes
Art collector pays €1,200 to clean a copy of 17th-century panting and it is ruined in the latest case after Spain's infamous Monkey Christ botch job. My latest for
@theipaper
Five men known as
#LaManada
or wolf pack who were cleared of the gang rape of a teenager at
#Sanfermines
have been released on bail while they appeal nine yr jail terms for the lesser conviction of sexual abuse. The case sparked outrage across Spain
Catalan president Quim Torra will present Spanish PM
@sanchezcastejon
with a series of demands including a Scottish-style referendum, he tells me during an interview.
Finally, 83 years after his mother was shot by a Francoist firing squad in 1936, her son Martin de Torre Muñoz will receive the rattle which he was holding as a baby when his mother was arrested. An emotive moment for his family.
Martín recibirá mañana, 82 años después, el sonajero que guardaba su madre cuando fue asesinada por fascistas palentinos. Todas las infancias robadas y el futuro de un país libre, simbolizados en ese objeto. Debería ser un acto de Estado, debería estar allí toda la ciudadanía.
On the eve of the trial of 12 Catalan politicians and activists, Jordi Sanchez tells me from jail it is a political trial. The Spanish gov says it wants to counter 'fake news' by independence movement about Spanish democracy. My story:
Seven judges barred Sir Hugh Orde’s evidence from being used in the trial, ruling: “This expert can only bring his appreciable experience in historic conflicts gathered in other countries and does not have direct experience of the events being judged.”
European diplpmats deride Spain's claim to have scored a major victory over Gibraltar as silly. They are not the only ones - at home the opposition say the same.
More than 40 years after his death, the figure of Franco still haunts Spain as leftist parties demand his granddaughter is barred from a noble title. My story for
@thetimes
When archaeologists found Eugenio Insúa's wedding ring in a mass grave, it ended his daughter's search for the father she never knew. My latest for
@Independent
on how the victims of General Franco may at last find redress.
A Spanish football team made up of migrants take a stand against racism by putting the insults they face on their shirts instead of their names. Slave, nigger, gorilla are just some. My story for
@thetimes
"It can be hard in the rain or the cold. But I am content when I am looking after (the sheep)"- Marina Vilalta, at 96 perhaps Spain's oldest shepherdess, on the pleasures of rural life. Mil gracias
@AbrahamOrriols
whose book celebrates this way of life.
'Spain clearly needs a new constitutional settlement agreed by all political forces. But a political solution to the crisis will only be possible if Mr Sànchez and his co-defendants are seen to be treated fairly.'
@thetimes
editorial
As the clocks change this weekend, clamour is growing in Spain to reverse Franco’s decision to put the clocks forward to appease Hitler. My latest for
@theipaper
#CambioDeHora
#summertime
Journalists wear black at state broadcaster RTVE to mourn 'death' of unbiased reports amid concerns about freedom of expression. My story for
@thetimes
One law for the Spanish royals, another for other the rest? Protests after King Felipe's jailed brother-in-law is allowed to leave prison two days a week. My story for
@thetimes
Gurtel comes back to haunt Mariano Rajoy as former Popular Party treasurer Luis Barcenas is jailed for 33 years and corruption mastermind Francisco Correa imprisoned for 51 years. My story for
@thetimes
How affluent teenagers are being drawn to
@vox_es
, a Spanish far-right party which could come third in today's general election if polls are right. My first for
@thesundaytimes
Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont can be extradited to Spain to face charges of corruption, but not rebellion, a German court rules. Puigdemont claims this is a victory.
“We have witnessed a horror which seems like something from Medieval Spain.” How mass graves from the Civil War haunt modern day Spain. My latest for
@euronews
Gracias
@PaquiMaqueda
#ARMH
Four Spanish priests saved over 150 Jews from the Nazis, but their heroism remained a secret. My latest for
@theipaper
about how a chance conversation led to this story being revealed.
Qué valiente es Cope Radio atacando a
@thetimes
sin haber leido un art��culo de opinión. Según Ramon Jauregui
@thetimes
había comparado Rajoy con Franco. No . Léelo
Art smashed by jihadists in Iraq is reborn in an international project. How experts copied the iconic two lamassu and will unveil them in Mosul later this month. My story for
@thetimes
Exiled Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont tells
@thetimes
that a deal is possible with the Spanish government which stops short of independence but includes 'self determination'.
#Catalonia
A moment in Spanish history as General Franco's remains are transported to El Pardo cemetery to be reburied after the exhumation from the Valley of the Fallen.
#exhumacionFranco
The legal battle to send Carles Puigdemont to Spain to face rebellion charges begins as German prosecutors request the Catalan leader's extradition. My story for
@thetimes
Dare I say it, this is possibly a more important story than any poll, whatever it may say: How archaeologists discovered a baby's rattle belonged to the mother who was executed by a firing squad in the civil war.
Tens of thousands protest against independence in Barcelona as a poll by
@metroscopia
shows most Catalans have misgivings about their separatist leaders. My story for
@thetimes
As Spain's Socialist government prepares to exhume Franco from a vast mausoleum to end an era of paying tribute to a dictator, the antics of his family have come under scrutiny. My story:
British police chief Sir Hugh Orde dismantles the narrative of the Spanish police regarding the events of September 20.
"We were surprised to see that the crowd was overwhelmingly peaceful, and to see that when the Guardia Civil turned up, the press was already there".
As Spain unveils a €10 billion plan to battle rural depopulation, my latest for
@VOANews
asks if politicans are tackling the root causes of this problem? With thanks to Alejandro Macarrón Larumbe
@teresaribera
@SoriaYa
#Espa
ñavacia
How a tractor driver in a Spanish hamlet unwittingly unearthed a vast villa which contains the largest Roman mosaic known in the world. My story for
@thetimes
Spain records no deaths from
#COVID19
in the past 24 hours. An important moment after such sacrifice. Remember on 2 April 950 people died from the virus overnight. The country has come a long way.
Museum in a suitcase is preserving Spain’s civil war memories — a bitterly controversial topic. Here you will learn about the man who saved George Orwell's life or relatives of the Red Baron. My latest for
@theipaper
@Civil_War_Spain
Chants of ‘my name is Boris’ and ‘this is a work event’ outside Downing Street as maybe a hundred bewigged Boris lookalikes jig around in the street. Utterly surreal
Spain authorizes the arrival of
#OpenArms
rescue ship carrying 313 migrants picked up off Libya after other countries refused to take them. No doubt political opponents of Spanish PM
@sanchezcastejon
will seize on this but others may see this as a charitable move at Xmas
German court rules Carles Puigdemont cannot be extradited to Spain on a charge of rebellion as there was no violence. A huge blow to the Spanish government which will have a big impact on the Catalan crisis
A curious coincidence that Kremlin critic
@billbrowder
is detained in Spain on a Russian arrest warrant? Sources tell me Moscow was aware he was in Madrid before the warrant was issued. My story for
@thetimes
Amid controversy over how Saudi Arabia might use laser guided bombs in the Yemen conflict, Spain's Socialist government cancels the €9.2m deal and returns the cash. My story
Spanish deputy PM Carmen Calvo says Democratic Memory Law will give state funding to find victims in mass graves, annul trials in dictatorship, make Valley of Fallen a civil cemetery, recognise women/Roma victims. Potentially a big day for Spain?
#MemoriaHistorica
He estado criticado por mis palabras en
@elmundoes
("es muy importante para ver si la justicia española puede darles un juicio justo a los acusados"). Para q lo sepaís, solo queria decir que es importante para España demonstrar al mundo que pueda dar los indepes un juicio justo
Outrage after five men who called themselves
#LaManada
are jailed for 9 years for the sexual abuse, not rape, of an 18-yr-old woman at San Fermin bull running festival.