Nick Clegg launched a bizarre class-war attack on David Cameron yesterday as plans for election TV debates descended into acrimony and farce. The Deputy Prime Minister accused his boss of a ‘Downton Abbey attitude’ after he brought an end to years of negotiations on the terms of debates. Mr Cameron claimed he was ‘unblocking the logjam’ by agreeing to take part in one contest featuring seven party leaders but ruling out two further debates. He attacked broadcasters for ‘the mess’ they had made of plans for debates and accused them of wanting to talk about no other issues. However, even the single seven-way debate is in doubt after the BBC said Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party – the fourth largest in Parliament – would not be allowed to take part. The DUP is threatening a judicial review. David Cameron tonight insisted he was not putting obstacles in the way of televised leaders' debates . Mr Cameron insisted he was not putting obstacles in the way of televised leaders' debates after he was accused of treating the public with 'lofty pomposity' by telling TV bosses how the debates are going to happen. Labour aides pointed out that the Prime Minister had mocked Gordon Brown for initially refusing to take part in three debates in 2010. At Prime Minister’s Questions in 2008, Mr Cameron also suggested Mr Brown was ‘frightened’ of TV debates. Labour leader Ed Miliband said that the Prime Minister was 'cowering from the public', after Downing Street rejected broadcasters' proposals for three TV debates during the election campaign and made a 'final offer' of a single 90-minute show featuring at least seven party leaders to take place before the official start of the campaign on March 30. Mr Miliband added the Prime Minister was ‘running away from the face-to-face debate with me that he said he wanted and that the public deserve’. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said that he was willing to take the PM's place in the one-on-one debate with Mr Miliband if Mr Cameron refused to turn up for the clash, scheduled to be shown on Sky News and Channel 4 on April 30 - exactly a week before the May 7 election. He was accused of treating the public like Downton Abbey's Lord Grantham by telling TV bosses how the debates are going to happen . Mr Clegg said he was 'bemused by the lofty pomposity of the Conservatives' adding: 'They're behaving as if they're ordering a drink in the drawing room of Downton Abbey. 'It's not for the Conservatives to start telling people how these debates are going to happen, they belong to the British people. 'If David Cameron is too important or too busy to bother to actually defend the record of this government in a debate with Ed Miliband then, yeah, I'll offer up myself to do it instead.' But Labour dismissed the suggestion as 'ridiculous', suggesting that the Deputy Prime Minister should instead debate with their deputy leader Harriet Harman. If the PM did not turn up, Mr Miliband was ready to subject himself to a solo grilling by presenter Jeremy Paxman and a studio audience, said Labour campaign chair Lucy Powell. Ukip's Nigel Farage said Mr Cameron was trying to 'sabotage' the debates. Mr Clegg said he was 'bemused by the lofty pomposity of the Conservatives' adding: 'They're behaving as if they're ordering a drink in the drawing room of Downton Abbey' The Electoral Reform Society said it would be a 'national embarrassment' if the debates did not go ahead. In a process of negotiations stretching over months, Mr Cameron has previously raised objections to broadcasters' proposals, first on the grounds that they excluded the Greens, and then that the Democratic Unionist Party had been left out. Labour have accused the Tories of working behind the scenes to scupper the live broadcasts - first tried in a UK general election in 2010. Speaking during a visit to Staffordshire, the Prime Minister insisted he had been 'completely consistent' on the debates, saying: 'I haven't put hurdles in the way, the broadcasters came up with a series of proposals that other people realised were flawed. 'I am unblocking the log jam and saying let's have this seven-cornered debate and get on with it before the campaign. Labour leader Ed Miliband said that the Prime Minister was 'cowering from the public' 'Then we can actually do what needs to be done, which is to get round the country during the election campaign.' He rejected claims that staging the debates before party manifestos are published would limit the opportunity to scrutinise their plans, insisting: 'Everyone knows what the Conservative proposals are and the Labour proposals are, and the other parties can speak for themselves.' Mr Miliband said he was ready to debate the Prime Minister 'any time, any place, anywhere'. 'It is now clear that David Cameron is ducking the debate with me. He is cowering from the public,' said Mr Miliband. 'The British people deserve this debate. I'll debate him any time, any place, anywhere. He should stop ducking and weaving and name the date.' The Labour leader's comment echoed Mr Cameron's own 2007 challenge to Gordon Brown to face him in a TV debate, when he said: 'Any time, anywhere. I will even pay for the taxi to take him (Gordon Brown) to the studio. In fact, I'll even drive the cab.' Meanwhile, Mr Clegg said he would happily take his coalition partner's place and spare the nation from an 'Ed Miliband monologue'. Mr Cameron's latest terms for taking part have been set out in a letter from his director of communications, Craig Oliver, to Sue Inglish, chairwoman of the broadcasters' leaders' debates committee. In a joint statement, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky said they would respond to the Conservatives' proposal in due course. As well as the April 30 two-leader clash, the broadcasters have proposed seven-way debates also involving Mr Clegg and the leaders of Ukip, the Greens, Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party on ITV on April 2 and BBC on April 16. Nigel Farage accused the Prime Minister of having 'sabotaged the whole thing' while Nick Clegg said he was prepared to take the Prime Minster's place in a one-to-one debate against Ed Miliband . Asked if he thought Mr Cameron was running scared, Mr Farage said: 'Yes, he is. He has sabotaged the whole thing. 'He has now said he will do one debate, but he will do it before the proper campaign starts, so it's not going to be a proper debate.' The Ukip leader told ITV's Loose Women: 'I suspect, had it been a four-headed debate, there are one or two conversations I wanted to have with the Prime Minister that I don't think he would have been able to answer. I suspect that's why they have sabotaged it.' A spokesman for the Greens said: 'Not only is Cameron's announcement cowardly but it also shows his contempt for the electorate. People want to see a set of debates between all major party leaders, yet the Prime Minister is clearly scared of scrutiny.' Electoral Reform Society chief executive Katie Ghose said: 'This unseemly squabble over TV debates has to end now. 'I have to say to the Prime Minister that if he really thinks that these exchanges once a week are a substitute for a proper television debate, then he is even more out of touch than I thought … I have to ask him: What on earth is he frightened of?' - David Cameron To Gordon Brown at PMQs, 2008 . 'What I have done is to unblock the logjam the broadcasters helped to create and said let’s get on and have the debate that I think matters the most, which is the one that gives everybody a say, and let’s get on with it before the campaign. So hopefully, by putting forward this proposal for a debate, we will actually see one take place.' - David Cameron, 2015 . 'Compared to other advanced democracies around the world, Britain has been extremely late to the party when it comes to TV debates. It would be a national embarrassment if we end up being the first to leave that party as well. 'No TV debates in 2015 would be a backward step in terms of our democratic development.' SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said: 'David Cameron is clearly running scared of having to answer for his Government's record of failure and incompetence - and this arrogance in trying to lay down the law is all about getting out of debates, not taking part. 'I will debate him any time, anywhere, on any number of occasions. However we have accepted the broadcasters' proposals, and believe we should stick with that, rather than allow a Tory Prime Minister to dictate the terms of debate.' The BBC Trust said it had rejected the DUP's appeal to be included in the debates format. A panel said there was no evidence the corporation had made an 'error in principle' or acted unfairly by refusing the party's claim. A DUP spokesman said it was prepared to launch a judicial review of the decision if any debates were going ahead. Broadcasters are still considering going ahead with three debates, and believe they may have legal grounds to ‘empty-chair’ the Tories on the basis that they turned down an invitation, but rules requiring political balance will make such a programme difficult.
Downing Street has rejected broadcasters' proposals for three TV debates . Made a 'final offer' of single 90-minute show featuring  seven party leaders . The debate would also have to take place before the start of the campaign . Nick Clegg said he was 'bemused' by 'lofty pomposity of the Conservatives'
Ed Miliband said that the Prime Minister was 'cowering from the public'