Spanish police arrest 21 in raids on Catalan separatists

People with links to separatist movement are held on suspicion of misusing public money

Spanish police have arrested 21 people including key supporters of the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont on suspicion of using public money to finance a failed push for independence and fund Puigdemont's self-imposed exile in Belgium.

In a series of raids carried out by hundreds of civil guard police in several parts of Catalonia, Puigdemont's so-called chiefs of staff - most of them linked to the two major pro-independence parties - were among those arrested. Homes and businesses were also searched under what is being called Operation Volhov.