The celebrated Catalan chef Joan Roca has dismissed suggestions that he is taking sides in the bitter battle over Catalonia’s independence by hiring out one of his venues for a prize-giving ceremony attended by King Felipe. Roca, whose three-Michelin starred restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca, has twice been named the best in the world, says he is being unfairly criticised for agreeing to host the Spanish monarch, who angered many Catalans by refusing to denounce the police violence that met last year’s illegal independence referendum.

The Princess of Girona Foundation awards, which promote young people’s professional and personal development, were due to be given out at a ceremony held at Girona’s auditorium on 28 June. But after the city council said the venue was unavailable because of building works, the event was transferred to Roca’s Espai Mas Marroch, a 15th-century country house on the outskirts of Girona.

News that one of Catalonia’s most lauded chefs was hosting the king did not go down well with some pro-independence campaigners. Lluc Salellas, a city councillor for the far-left Popular Unity Candidacy (Cup), published an open letter to Roca and his two brothers, urging them not to host the event. “Rethink allowing Felipe of Bourbon, who justified the violence against thousands of Catalans – including hundreds of people from Girona – into your house, the Mas Marroch, to preach his words in our region,” said the letter.(theguardian)…[+]

The attempt to secure a “meaningful vote” that could have potentially given MPs the power to stop Britain leaving the EU without a deal has been defeated. The final obstacle to the EU withdrawal bill was removed as MPs voted 303 to 319 against an amendment tabled by the former attorney general Dominic Grieve – before he accepted government reassurances about its respect for the power of MPs to hold it to account.
At least six Tory rebels – Ken Clarke, Sarah Wollaston, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen, Antoinette Sandbach and Philip Lee, who resigned last week to vote against the government – held out against the compromise that Labour MPs dismissed as meaningless. Grieve was accused by one angry Labour backbencher of behaving like the Grand old Duke of York. “You can’t keep marching the troops up the hill and down again and keep your integrity,” George Howarth said.

The bill will return to the Lords later on Wednesday and is expected to be on the statute book within days. After the vote, Grieve said: “We’ve managed to reach a compromise without breaking the government – and I think some people don’t realise we were getting quite close to that. I completely respect the view of my colleagues who disagree, but if we can compromise we can achieve more.” Amid a welter of procedural technicalities about the powers of MPs and the potential role of the judges, Grieve – who had said he woke up in the small hours worrying that his actions would cause the government’s collapse – withdrew his support for his own amendment.(theguardian)…[+]

Hungary’s parliament has passed a series of laws that criminalise any individual or group that offers to help an illegal immigrant claim asylum. The legislation restricts the ability of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to act in asylum cases and was passed in defiance of the European Union and human rights groups. Under the law, officially called “Stop Soros”, individuals or groups that help illegal migrants gain status to stay in Hungary will be liable to prison terms.

Parliament also passed a constitutional amendment stating that an “alien population” cannot be settled in Hungary – a swipe at Brussels over its migrant quota plan. The prime minister Viktor Orbán’s right-wing Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority in the chamber. “The Hungarian people rightfully expects the government to use all means necessary to combat illegal immigration and the activities that aid it,” Interior Minister Sandor Pinter wrote in a justification attached to the draft legislation.

“The STOP Soros package of bills serves that goal, making the organisation of illegal immigration a criminal offence. We want to use the bills to stop Hungary from becoming a country of immigrants,” he said.  Fidesz was re-elected by a landslide in April after a campaign attacking the US billionaire George Soros and the liberal NGOs he supports. Orbán believes Soros has encouraged mass immigration in order to undermine Europe.(theguardian)…[+]