Catalonia’s deposed government is heading for a fresh showdown with the Spanish authorities today after Catalan ministers promised they would go to work on Monday morning despite being fired over the weekend by Madrid.

A source close to Carles Puigdemont, the deposed president of Catalonia, told The Telegraph that Monday would be “a working day” for the administration, officially ousted under special powers triggered by Spain’s government.

“The president of the country is and will continue to be Carles Puigdemont”, added Catalonia’s deposed vice president, Oriol Junqueras, in a newspaper article yesterday.

As 300,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Barcelona on Sunday to reject the declaration of independence by a majority in Catalonia’s parliament, another of Mr Puigdemont’s regional officials stated his clear intention to stay in his post.

“My intention on Monday is to come here, not as a councillor of the Catalan regional government, but as a minister of the new Catalan republic,” said Josep Rull of the Territory and Sustainability department in a public video message.