THE Scottish Greens urged STV to rethink their “bizarre” decision to exclude the party from the first TV Scottish leaders debate of the General Election.

STV will invite Nicola Sturgeon, Ruth Davidson, Kezia Dugdale and Willie Rennie to the live event on May 24.

However, neither Patrick Harvie nor Maggie Chapman have been invited in a repeat of the station’s 2015 pre-election coverage.

The broadcaster said the decision was made in accordance with Ofcom guidance.

However, a spokesperson for the Greens said it is polling ahead of the LibDems, adding that the result will pit one pro-independence voice against three pro-Union speakers.

The party, which is the fourth-largest at Holyrood, said: “STV froze us out of their General Election debate in 2015 but doing so two years later after so much has changed in Scottish politics is simply bizarre.

“Viewers will be baffled and disappointed by our exclusion and we would encourage them to make their feelings known.

“The lack of balance given the ongoing constitutional question is extraordinary. The Green MSPs’ prominent role in Scottish politics is certain to feature in the debate, so it’s completely unacceptable that we won’t be there to address references to us.

“We hope STV see sense and put on a fair debate, which we’d be delighted to take part in. We will announce our candidates for the General Election after the results of the important council elections.”

STV’s political editor Bernard Ponsonby will chair the 90-minute Scotland Debates event at the Tramway theatre in Glasgow from 8.30pm. An audience of 150 people representing the Scottish electorate will be chosen to take part.

Responding to criticism from the Greens, an STV spokesperson said: “Under the Ofcom code, STV is required to consider historical election performance and our editorial decision is to include the leaders of the four largest parties in Scotland in its debate on May 24.”

Gordon Macmillan, STV’s head of news, said: “STV has a strong track record of delivering election debates for viewers in Scotland.

“This is an exciting time in Scottish and UK politics and we’ve rarely seen public political engagement so high.”