The man behind political website Guido Fawkes has said the main reason Theresa May won't take part in a live TV debate is because the Tories are scared of giving Tim Farron a surge in the polls.

Paul Staines spoke to talkRADIO as Theresa May faces mounting pressure to debate Jeremy Corbyn and her fellow leaders. Ms May has thus far refused to do so.

Staines told Julia Hartley-Brewer that Ms May's team aren't scared of Mr Corbyn, but of his Lib Dem counterpart Mr Farron, who has pitched himself as the only man capable of stopping a hard Brexit.

The journalist suggested that Ms May's campaign team have "learned the lesson" of 2010, when then-Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg enjoyed a late surge in support after the TV leaders' debates and the Tories were eventually forced into a coalition with his party.

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