The Minister for Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency, Alfred Bosch, took part today in an official Westminster reception to mark St. George’s Day.

 

In an event organised by MP Andrew Rosindell, with the participation of the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, Bosch emphasised that England and Catalonia share the same patron saint. The Catalan minister presented a brief history of the Sant Jordi tradition, which in Catalonia means streets teeming with people and involves “exchanging books and roses in the name of culture and love”.

 

Minister Bosch also stressed that Sant Jordi is a day of “culture, freedom and free speech”.

Bosch thanked the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, for giving him the opportunity to speak at Westminster and noted that both the British and the Catalan Parliament have a long democratic tradition.

 

The minister also recalled that there are people in prison for political reasons in the Spanish state, including the former speaker of the Catalan parliament, Carme Forcadell, jailed “for allowing a debate”, and his predecessor in the role of foreign minister, Raül Romeva.

 

The event was also attended by Joanna Cadman, chair of the Royal Society of St. George, and Andrew Rosindell, vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Catalonia.