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The speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Roger Torrent, has defended the Scottish path as the only method to gain Catalan independence. He made the comment as he left Lledoners prison having visited the political prisoners this morning.

The speaker avoided directly evaluating remarks by the president, Quim Torra, calling for Catalonia to follow the example of Slovenia. He said that the solution to the conflict and the one which "connects with 80% of the country's population" is "civil, democratic and peaceful" and that he's sure that the other pro-independence parties in the Parliament see it the same way.

By the "Scottish path", they mean a binding referendum under terms agreed with Madrid, like the referendum held by Scotland in agreement with Westminster in 2014. Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 through a referendum, followed by the Ten-Day War which ended in the Brioni Agreement sponsored by the European Community.

"We've always defended and will continue defending the Scottish path, which is the correct one and which is the one that it seems to us will let us win, because it connects with 80% of this country's population and offers a democratic solution to the conflict," he said.

Torrent said that he didn't discuss this question with the prisoners, although he did admit later that with Oriol Junqueras he spoke "obviously about what is ERC's wish and strategical choice and what is the political stance which, in our opinion, the pro-independence movement has to take".

Torrent, said that, having met with the prisoners on hunger strike, they appear "strong and firm".