Lawyers for the 12 Catalan independence leaders charged with rebellion today denied their clients had engaged in a ‘coup d’etat’ as the controversial trial drew to a close.

The supreme court has heard testimony from more than 400 witnesses, including former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, since the trial into the holding of an unlawful referendum in 2017 opened in February.

But the political consequences of the court action remain uncertain and Spain's divisions are as deep as ever on how to approach the desire for independence among many Catalans.

“The best thing for everyone would be to take the question back to the realm of politics, dialogue and agreement,” said Oriol Junqueras, the former deputy president of Catalonia, in his closing remarks before the seven judges retired to consider a verdict that is not expected until after the summer.

Mr Junqueras, for whom the public prosecutor is asking for 25 years in jail on counts of rebellion and misuse of public funds, is at the centre of the latest row surrounding the trial after the Spanish government’s legal representation said it backed the Catalan politician’s request to take up his seat as an MEP.

Conservative opposition Popular Party leader Pablo Casado demanded that Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, overrule the government’s legal representative because “the majority of Spanish democrats and the majority of Spain’s parliament and the European Parliament do not want Catalonia’s xenophobic exclusivism to affect our institutions”.