THE row over a televised referendum debate between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling has escalated after the Better Together leader refused to switch to a new date.
STV, which hopes to stage the first live head-to-head debate between the two campaign figureheads, originally scheduled a July 16 showdown to be broadcast from Edinburgh.
Mr Darling accepted but Mr Salmond said he was only prepared to debate Prime Minister David Cameron on that date. STV yesterday offered an alternative date of August 5 after Mr Salmond said he would debate Mr Darling only after the Commonwealth Games.
But it was turned down by the No campaign leader, who had been told the original date was non-negotiable and who was unwilling to change his plans to meet the First Minister's preferred timing.
The First Minister has accepted the proposed alternative.
Meanwhile, Mr Darling has accepted a BBC proposal for a televised debate on August 12 in Inverness hosted by James Cook, which Mr Salmond is still considering.
A Better Together spokesman said: "We are disappointed that STV has now repudiated its own date after Alex Salmond refused to take part, despite the First Minister indicating publicly that he was free that day.
"We accepted the original offer from STV in good faith, with a date that was not of our choosing or Mr Salmond's choosing."
The spokesman challenged Mr Salmond to agree to take part in a BBC debate on August 12.
A spokesman for the First Minister said: "We will continue to pursue a debate with David Cameron. In the meantime we have accepted STV's proposal for a debate between the First Minister and Alistair Darling on August 5."
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