“We see how day after day the government of Catalonia is pushing the population to the abyss and inciting rebellion in the streets,” Juan Ignacio Zoido said, adding that his government would take “all measures necessary to stop acts of harassment”.

Spanish national police have been driven out of their hotels in Catalonia by locals furious over police violence that marred the region’s banned independence vote on Sunday, which separatist leaders organised despite strict orders from Madrid not to do so.

Hundreds of protesters gathered overnight outside a hotel in the seaside resort of Pineda de Mar, about 70 kilometres (40 miles) north of Barcelona where around 200 officers were staying.

READ MORE: Catalan hotels evict police as crowds protest violence at the polls

In a letter shared on social media, the hotel management said it had asked police officers to leave the hotel after being “obliged” to do so by local authorities on pain of being shut down.

Source:thelocal.es