JEREMY Corbyn is now being accused of “running scared” of election TV debates after his office suggested he would not take part in them if the Prime Minister sticks by her refusal to do so.

Broadcasters are facing calls for the Conservative leader to be "empty chaired" after she made clear she would not participate in televised debates in the run-up to the June 8 election.

But a senior Labour aide suggested that a debate would only be worthwhile if it pitted the leaders of the two biggest parties against one another.

Asked whether Mr Corbyn would take part in a broadcast which did not involve Mrs May, he said: "Obviously, if you are talking about a debate about the possible outcomes of the election, you are talking about a debate between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party first and foremost.

"To have a debate among the opposition parties doesn't meet that objective at all.

"I don't think having a debate among opposition parties in any way meets the objective of giving the British people a chance of seeing what the real choices are in this election campaign,” the aide explained.

He added that Labour’s challenge to the PM was to “have the strength and guts to actually face a direct debate with Jeremy Corbyn on the issues facing the country and the issues of this election. The fact that she is running scared of that is a sign of her weakness, not her strength".

The Liberal Democrats and Greens accused the Labour leader of “running scared”.

Tim Farron said: “He is running away from facing his opponents, he is running away from defending his policies, he is running away from leadership.

“Given he has been absent since the day he was elected as Leader of the Opposition, it is no surprise that he is choosing to be absent now,” claimed the Lib Dem leader.

“The broadcasters are going to have to dust off two empty chairs, the debates must go ahead,” he added.

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, said British democracy deserved better than this.

“Theresa May should commit to doing the TV debates and Jeremy Corbyn shouldn't be afraid to 'empty chair' the Prime Minister and debate with the other parties. A failure by both Corbyn and May to appear in the television debates would be a dereliction of their duty as party leaders," insisted the Brighton MP.

TV debates first became part of the British General Election campaign in 2010 when Gordon Brown went head-to-head with David Cameron and Nick Clegg. After protracted wrangling, debates went ahead in 2015 in a variety of formats, including one involving leaders of parties which were not in government.

ITV has confirmed it intends to host a leaders' debate during this year's campaign, while the BBC's head of newsgathering has said the Corporation would not let a single politician stop a programme which was in the public interest.