Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of “avoiding scrutiny” during the lead up to the general election.
GB News host Mark Dolan clashed with former Labour MP Siôn Simon on the matter with the latter defending the man bidding to usurp Rishi Sunak to take the reins of power.
But Starmer will not indulge his counterpart’s demand for weekly televised debates, he has said, and will instead only seek to participate in two.
According to Simon, televised debates are unlikely to tip the balance of the general election and the Labour leader has better things to be doing.
But Mark said just two debates is “measly” as he locked horns with the ex-Labour MP on the matter.
“The refusal by Starmer to do more than two debates, which I think is a measly number, two debates in a six week campaign is pathetic, it sounds like he is avoiding scrutiny”, he said.
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PA“The messaging here is a disaster.”
Simon hit back: “It’s not a measly number. Two is a normal number. Six is an absurd number.
“There has never been six debates, there is no demand for this, people want to watch the football.
“Do you really think normal people want to listen to Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer?”
Mark’s co-host, Nana Akua, found common ground with Simon as they agreed three debates would be the optimal amount.
Simon said they should take place on “BBC, ITV and GB News”.
With the European Championships taking place next month, broadcasters face a challenge in balancing when to show the televised debates
Key dates to avoid will be June 16, 20 and 25, which are the days of England’s group matches, while Scotland play on June 14, 19 and 23.
