Spanish right rallies against plans to pardon Catalan separatists

Protest at Plaza de Colon in Madrid draws 25,000 people, including leaders of three rightwing parties

About 25,000 people, including the leaders of the three parties on Spain's right, have rallied in Madrid to protest against the government's deeply divisive moves to pardon the 12 Catalan independence leaders convicted over their parts in the failed secession attempt almost four years ago.

The event on Sunday, held beneath the enormous Spanish flag in the capital's Plaza de Colon, came almost two and a half years after a similar demonstration against the Socialist government's handling of the Catalan independence crisis.