Downing Street has accused Jeremy Corbyn of “running scared” from a Brexit TV debate, as the ongoing row over what the event will look like rumbles on.

No 10 has confirmed there is still no agreement with Labour over the debate, which is due to be screened next Sunday – two days before the crunch Commons vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

The Labour leader's office later hit back, accusing Ms May of playing games and pushing for less debating time.

The row erupted last week when public statements by the two parties focused on whether the BBC – Downing Street’s preferred option – or ITV, Mr Corbyn's choice, would reach a wider audience.

On Saturday, Mr Corbyn said he was prepared to accept the debate being aired on the BBC provided it was a straight head-to-head with Ms May.

Mr Corbyn had previously indicated his support for the rival ITV debate based on a simple one-on-one format, in contrast to the BBC offer which also involves the leaders taking questions from a wider panel.

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A No 10 spokesman made clear that Ms May was determined to stick to the original BBC plan.

"A week ago, the PM challenged Jeremy Corbyn to a head-to-head debate. He accepted," the spokesman said.

"Since then, in order to accommodate his confected demands, we've moved our preferred day, accommodated the addition of social media questions at Labour's request, and agreed there should be maximum head-to-head time, while still including voices from employers and civil society in the debate.

"But if Jeremy Corbyn doesn't agree to what's now on the table – a debate on prime time with the prime minister – the public will rightly conclude he's running scared. So let's get on with it."

Labour hit back, arguing that it was the prime minister trying to avoid the confrontation.

"As she did during the general election campaign, Theresa May is running away from the scrutiny of a real head-to-head debate with Jeremy Corbyn," a spokesman said.

"Why else would she not accept ITV's offer of a straightforward head-to-head debate, as Jeremy has done?

Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Show all 14 1 /14 Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Bristol An urban fox uses the public toilets at Bristol Temple Meads train station, adapted to human civilisation, more confident now, wine under arm, dressed up, ready for the Saturday night ahead. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Plymouth A distinctly 21st century image of friends hanging out. They will talk to each other, of course, in between these scenes of mobile gazing, but their phones will lead the conversations and their screens will set the agendas. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Yeovil A sign sums up three aspects of the modern British high street: despairing indifference from the bottom up against the status quo; the rapid emergence of betting on the future; and a simple message of family togetherness. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Royal Wootton Bassett Civilians look on in support of uniformed marchers – men, women and children – returning to the car park at the back of Iceland to finish the Armistice Day ceremony. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Plymouth A lady stops to read a sign of solidarity with victims of suicide in the UK. The bearer of the sign completed a 32-minute silence to show her support for the 32 people who, on average, take their own lives in Britain every day. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Bath A counter-attack on the dominant Armistice Day narrative of peace. It’s a risky and rare question to ask the high street in a city so adherent to the story of sacrifice. The heresy blends – or disappears – within a blur of urban reflections and the giddy faces of Christmas capitalism. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Bristol Not quite the changing of colour that the charity sign has in mind, but I am thankful for this fleeting glimpse of a “green” landscape, bringing colour – momentarily – to an otherwise grey concrete and overcast city. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Plymouth Fairground rides are assembled at the end of the high street in preparation for the turning-on of the Christmas lights. In the process of construction, when all the parts aren’t put together and fully formed, the ride and the flag and the worker look pathetic and comical. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Royal Wootton Bassett There are gasps from the crowd as a veteran and a boy scout faint during the two-minute silence at the cenotaph on Armistice Day. They are cared for – in silence – as the ritual continues. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Yeovil The devil draped in the St George’s cross barks from behind the window at a father and son on the street. Engraved on the plinth is a message fitting for an English hell – “The Devil’s Den awaits the virtuous for conversion” – where the good are corrupted in the process of assimilation. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Plymouth Polish graffiti in support of the football team Legia Warsaw. I wonder about its intended audience. It can’t be for the non-Polish reading British majority, so it must be a territorial message for other Polish immigrants in the city. I speak with the lady in the picture and she presumes it’s Czech, because, as she told me, there are a lot of Czech people sleeping on the streets in Plymouth. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Bristol Outside the Old Duke, three parts of three human bodies occupy different roles in the scene: one sits and smokes; one drinks and watches music; one sleeps on a picnic bench outside. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Royal Wootton Bassett A family leaving the Armistice Day ceremony. The father holds his hand out to his boys, asking for their bond and union, and the elder boy, not wanting to leave his younger brother behind and imitating his role model, repeats the gesture. A genuine, unstaged, unposed human moment on a day so well-rehearsed. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: Southwest England Plymouth A view of the Tinside Lido from the Hoe, deserted in late autumn, its pastel blue submerging into dirty water, darker than the sea, muddier than the hills. But it is still beautiful, not only geometrically with its lines and curves against the fluidity of the ocean, but also as an emblem of a British seaside culture slowly fading. Richard Morgan/The Independent

"Instead, her team are playing games and prefer the BBC's offer, which would provide less debating time and risk a confusing mish-mash for the viewing public."

The row comes after it was revealed a majority of the public believe any Brexit debate should also include proponents of both a fresh referendum and a no-deal scenario; both Ms May and Mr Corbyn support a form of soft Brexit.

The survey by pollsters YouGov found 53 per cent believed an advocate of a public vote with the option of remaining in the EU should be involved in the debate, compared with 25 per cent who disagreed and 22 per cent who did not know.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said other views would be excluded if the debate went ahead featuring just the Tory and Labour leaders.

In a letter to the BBC, ITV and Sky, Sir Vince put himself forward as an advocate for a second referendum.

"The principal alternative to the withdrawal agreement is for the UK to remain as a full and influential member of the European Union," he said.

"All the evidence suggests that there is now a majority in the country for doing so, and a substantial majority for a people's vote. Yet neither Jeremy Corbyn nor Theresa May supports this route."

On Monday, The Independent will hand in a petition to Downing Street, signed by over a million individuals who are demanding a Final Say on Ms May’s Brexit deal.