Unhappy with being ruled from Madrid, the Basque Nationalist Party in Spain has come up with a novel solution – union with Scotland.
The Basque nationalist leader Andoni Ortuzar and his supporters turned out dressed in tartan at the annual Basque carnival of Jaia at the weekend. They have proposed a tongue-in-cheek law to their parliament which would make Edinburgh their capital instead of Madrid and encourage the Basque people to adopt kilts and Tam o'shanters as their national dress.
Mr Ortuzar, wearing a kilt and sash, addressed the crowd, saying: "We appear today with a warm heart like Braveheart and with cold legs. We come to demand the annexation of the Basque Country to Scotland."
He explained that he had made the satirical proposal because Scots were to be given the chance to choose their own future, whereas the Spanish constitution makes it illegal to hold a referendum on independence.
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