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The apparent threat comes amid heightened tensions between Catalonia and Spain as the wealthy region threatens to break away following an independence referendum held on October 1. More than 90 per cent of the Catalonians who went to the polls voted in favour of independence, although the Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy and the King have rejected the results. Spain has been rocked by the referendum results and the police violence seen against voters in Catalonia has sparked a huge backlash.

GETTY•YOUTUBE Carles Puigdemont has been at the centre of tensions surrounding Catalonia's independence referendum

Now, Spain’s ruling party appears to have resorted to thinly-veiled threats in a bid to force Catalan leaders to back down as the region’s independence bid threatens the breakup of Spain. Pablo Casado, the party's deputy secretary for communications, told reporters: "Let's hope that nothing is declared tomorrow because perhaps the person who makes the declaration will end up like the person who made the declaration 83 years ago." The person who made the declaration 83 years ago, Lluis Companys, was arrested, tried and sentenced to 30 years in prison for rebellion.

GETTY Catalan leader Lluis Companys was jailed & later executed after declaring the region independent

Exiled to France after the Spanish Civil War, Companys was eventually handed over to the Francoist regime by the Nazis and executed in Barcelona on October 15, 1940. Mr Cascado’s comments have prompted a furious reaction from some supporters of Catalan independence. Republican Catalan Left (Esquerra, ERC) MP Joan Tardà tweeted: "Yes, Pablo Casado, we know how our President Companys ended up, shot by the army. Does it make you happy to remind our defenceless people of it?". Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias tweeted: "Casado says Puigdemont might end up like Companys, who was tortured and shot. Either he is ignorant or irresponsibly provocative.”

Thousands protest in Catalonia general strike Wed, October 4, 2017 Catalonia general strike: Thousands protest over Catalonia referendum violence. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 29 People gather at Spanish police headquarters to stage a demonstration, supporting Catalonian independence and reacting against Spanish police's intervention, in Barcelona

YOUTUBE•THE SPANISH REPORT Pablo Casado, the party's deputy secretary for communications, speaks at a press conference