Labour says Jeremy Corbyn would '˜relish' TV debate on Brexit deal

Jeremy Corbyn would '˜relish' a debate on television with Theresa May over the terms of the Prime Minister's Brexit deal, a spokesman has revealed.

Jeremy Corbyn.

Ahead of the vote in Parliament, Mrs May has already started a campaign of selling her deal directly to the public, in the hope their support can win round MPs opposed to the plan.

Part of that campaign could include a televised debate with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the Daily Telegraph reported.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “Jeremy would relish a head-to-head debate with Theresa May about her botched Brexit deal and the future of the country.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has also echoed calls for a TV debate and said she would be keen to feature.

In a Commons statement, the Prime Minister will say: “Our duty as a Parliament over these coming weeks is to examine this deal in detail, to debate it respectfully, to listen to our constituents and decide what is in our national interest.

“There is a choice which MPs will have to make. We can back this deal, deliver on the vote of the referendum and move on to building a brighter future of opportunity and prosperity for all our people.

“Or this House can choose to reject this deal and go back to square one ... It would open the door to more division and more uncertainty, with all the risks that will entail.”

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson branded the Prime Minister’s deal a “disaster” and a “humiliation” for the UK.

In his regular Daily Telegraph column, he said: “The other EU countries have signed the deal immediately, because they know that they have us exactly where they want us.

“We are a satellite state - a memento mori fixed on the walls of Brussels as a ghastly gaping warning to all who try to escape.”

More than 80 Tories have rejected the deal, with opposition parties - and Mrs May’s allies in the DUP - also set to oppose it.”