Spanish police arrest a British woman and her partner in connection with the attempted assassination of a veteran politician who was shot in the face in central Madrid: the victim blamed Iran for the attack due to its links with the Tehran opposition

A British woman and her partner were arrested by police during an investigation into the assassination of veteran Spanish politician Alejo Vidal-Quadras in Madrid.

The pair were arrested this morning in the town of Lanjaron, the gateway to the postcard Alpujarras region, following the arrest of another man on the Costa Del Sol.

Vidal-Quadras cheated on death after being shot in the face in broad daylight on November 9 on a central street in the Spanish capital.

The victim, a former regional leader of the right-wing Popular Party in Catalonia before breaking away to help form the far-right Vox party, told police from his hospital bed that he blamed the shooting on Iran because of its ties to the country’s opposition.

A police source confirmed this morning that the British woman was one of three people arrested. They said: “We are investigating her possible involvement in the crime. She is the partner of one of the other two detainees.

Local reports say the British woman and her Spanish partner were arrested after police in the spa town of Lanjaron had their car removed from an area where trees were to be trimmed.

The rental vehicle was parked on the street despite signs warning residents to remove their cars due to the planned clearing.

The license plate on the car is said to have raised suspicions among investigators investigating the attempted bombing in Madrid, as detectives were reportedly hunting for the vehicle after viewing CCTV footage of the victim’s movements in the days leading up to the shooting.

The second arrest is believed to have taken place in the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola.

This morning, a Spanish police spokesman said: “I can confirm that police have arrested three people in connection with the ongoing investigation into the shooting that took place earlier this month in Madrid.

“Two are Spanish nationals. We are currently unable to confirm the nationality of the third person detained.

“Two of the arrests took place in Granada and the other in the province of Malaga.”

A police source later confirmed that the third person was British.

Police sources say the arrests were supervised by Francisco de Jorge, a judge at Spain’s Central Criminal Court, Audiencia Nacional.

He is leading a judicial investigation into the shooting, believing it may be related to terrorism.

Vidal-Quadras (78), who was attacked near his home in Madrid by a man wearing a black helmet who fled on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice, is still recovering from his injuries in hospital following emergency surgery.

The Spaniard was one of the first politicians to be placed on Iran’s terrorist list due to his support for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), a group that aims to overthrow the regime in Tehran.

A Civil Defense spokesman said Vidal-Quadras remained conscious and was taken to nearby Gregorio Marañón hospital

Police work at the scene in Madrid, Spain, November 9, of the shooting in the face of Alejo Vidal-Quadras, former head of the Spanish People’s Party in the Catalonia region

He is also a member of European Friends of Israel, a lobbying group that aims to defend Israel’s interests in the European Union.

Spanish investigators have not yet commented on a possible motive for the shooting, which left Vidal-Quadras with a double jaw fracture after a bullet fired at him from close range hit him in the right cheek.

The attack occurred on November 9 around 1:30 p.m. on Nunez de Balboa Street. The victim was taken to Gregorio Maranon Hospital in the Spanish capital.

Local reports indicate that at least one of the people arrested this morning is linked to the motorcycle used in the hit.

It is believed that none of the detainees is the attacker, although the police have not issued an official comment on the matter.