POLICE in Catalonia have been ordered to take control of polling stations before Sunday’s independence referendum, according to Spain’s central government, which has declared the poll illegal.

But the Catalan Government said the regional force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, would not accept the decision and its lawyers would study a legal response to Madrid’s attempted takeover, which it deemed “unacceptable”.

The Catalan Government also insisted the vote will go ahead and that it had already started sending out notifications to individuals to staff the voting booths.

The move came before Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took part in a joint press conference with Donald Trump last night at which the US President said he thought “the people of Catalonia should stay with Spain”. Beforehand, Spain’s Defence Minister, Maria Dolores de Cospedal, said Madrid had received assurances from Trump’s administration that it supported Spain’s opposition to the indyref.

Confirming that the Mossos would take control of any voting booths from Friday, the Spanish Government’s representative in Catalonia, Enric Millo, told journalists yesterday: “Today we can affirm that there will be no effective referendum in Catalonia. All the referendum’s logistics have been dismantled.”

Josep-Lluis Trapero, head of the Mossos, has already fallen out of favour with Madrid after refusing to relinquish control of the force to central government. He sent one of his junior officers to a joint meeting of Spain’s police forces yesterday, following the weekend decision by Madrid to take control of his force.

Marta Rovira a spokesman for the pro-independence ruling coalition in Catalonia, Together for Yes (JxS), said in a radio interview that yesterday marked the beginning of the process of sending out notices to election agents for the vote.

However, he kept his cards close to his chest on whether or not all had been notified: “It’s possible that yes, it’s also possible that no. Some notifications are arriving, but not all have finished being delivered.”

As political tensions continued to rise over the poll, the European Commission refused to intervene after Spain blocked a number of pro-indy websites, including that of one of the biggest independence- supporting groups the Catalan National Assembly (ANC). An EC spokeswoman, Margaritis Schinas, said the measures were legal and did not raise concerns over freedom of speech or opinion.

He said: “We respect the legal order and the constitutional framework within which all these measures have been taken. What is happening is according to the law, there are judges that have ordered this.

“These are measures taken in a specific context and the EC has no competencies or say on what is happening under the constitution or legal order of member states.”

Meanwhile, Spain’s ambassador to France allegedly lobbied a university to cancel a conference on the Catalan referendum, according to the ANC.

The event, at Sciences Po University in Paris, included a presentation by Catalan Foreign Affairs Minister Raul Romeva, eventually went ahead, but journalists were told not to film, record audio, or take pictures.

Alfonso Tena, a deputy at the Spanish embassy in Paris, told the conference the Catalan referendum was illegal and claimed that “200 Catalan lawyers have signed a manifesto against it”.

However, Romeva said Spanish Government’s attitude “cannot be justified”.