THE prime Minister has been accused of "running scared" more than a year since his last public press conference.

Labour said David Cameron was turning his back on transparency pledges, but Downing Street denied the Tory leader was trying to hide.

The PM's spokesman said Mr Cameron often gave speeches across the country. He added: "We have a regular press conference in Brussels."

The idea of a monthly PM's press conference was started by Tony Blair and continued by Gordon Brown, though both held them less frequently than once a month.

Mr Cameron also held the meetings while he was in opposition and continued them after he entered Downing Street in 2010. The Herald asked No 10 to confirm for weeks when the last press conference was held, without success.

Last summer, Mr Cameron ordered a hastily scheduled press conference to address the phone hacking scandal.

Labour MP Bill Esterson said: "David Cameron is running scared of running the country. He came in promising transparency, but it is more than a year since a full press conference in No 10, he is increasingly absent from Prime Minister's Questions and half the Cabinet seems to be abroad.

"Iit's clear Mr Cameron is breaking his promises, standing up for the wrong people and taking Britain in the wrong direction."