Theresa May has insisted she is not "running scared" of TV election debates but that she will not take part at the forthcoming general election, in a major departure from recent political campaigns.

Mrs May said she wanted to spend the election campaign meeting voters and that she already takes part in debates with Jeremy Corbyn on a weekly basis in the House of Commons in the form of Prime Minister's questions.

The Prime Minister said she is “constantly debating" with her opponents as she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “We won’t be doing the television debates”.