Campaign says confining debate to Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn would breach BBC guidelines

The People’s Vote campaign has formally complained to the BBC and Ofcom over plans to hold a televised Brexit debate without including a supporter of a second referendum.

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have agreed to take part in a discussion of the prime minister’s Brexit plan on national television next Sunday evening, although there is disagreement between the two political parties over whether the BBC or ITV should host the debate.

The BBC’s proposal, which is backed by Downing Street, would see the politicians go head-to-head in Birmingham on 9 December with some questions put to them by a panel of prominent figures from all sides of the Brexit debate.

“Hosting a TV debate that is confined to the prime minister and Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit would not only breach Ofcom’s guidelines but also the BBC’s own editorial guidelines,” wrote Tom Baldwin, director of communications for the People’s Vote campaign.

There's a plan for a Brexit debate. It's a shame it's the only plan | John Crace Read more

He said the proposal to include a panel of participants who would not be in the main debate but would be asked for their views at various points was not sufficient.

“Even if such a panel included political figures representing our side of the argument, this would not be acceptable to us if they were relegated to a sideshow away from the main debate between Mrs May and Mr Corbyn,” Baldwin said.

He argued that “any decision that excludes the voice of millions of people supporting our position – or confines it to the margins of the debate – does not serve the interests of our democracy” and that broadcasters had a duty under the Ofcom code to “reflect the strength of public or parliamentary support for handing the final decision back to the UK electorate”.

Play Video 4:37 ​A day with Mr Stop Brexit: crashing TV interviews and fighting Ukip – video

One People’s Vote campaigner likened the proposal to putting supporters of a second referendum in a “peanut gallery”. The Liberal Democrats have said they are taking legal advice on the decision to exclude them, while the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has asked to take part.

However, the BBC could potentially justify pushing ahead with the proposed format because the debate is not being held during a tightly regulated election period, when different broadcasting rules apply.

ITV has instead offered a straightforward head-to-head with all questions posed by a moderator, which is Labour’s preferred format. However, Corbyn’s team feel Downing Street is attempting to bounce them into accepting the alternative BBC proposal by coordinating their messaging with the public broadcaster. Labour has highlighted that Theresa May’s director of communications, Robbie Gibb, was until recently the head of political programming at the BBC.

One of the biggest challenges for any debate is the need to rejig the television schedules on one of the busiest nights of the year. The BBC’s proposal would force a rescheduling of the final episode of David Attenborough’s natural history series Dynasties, meaning viewers would miss out on the chance to watch a tigress “protect her cubs while battling rivals who want to steal her lands and overthrow her”.

Labour has already made clear that it does not want a supporter of a second referendum to be included in the debate.