David Cameron has said he will only take part in one election debate . David Cameron could be given his own election programme if he refuses to show up for televised leaders debates, it was claimed today. Broadcasters last week insisted they would push ahead with plans for three debates in April – including a face-off between the Prime Minister and Ed Miliband. But the BBC is understood to have backed down from threats to 'empty chair' Mr Cameron if he refuses to show. If the corporation pushes ahead with its planned Cameron vs Miliband debate without the Prime Minister it risks being accused of giving an unprecedented platform to the Labour leader, just a week before the election. To meet strict impartiality rules during election campaigns, the BBC is considering giving Mr Cameron his own show in return, the Independent on Sunday claimed today. Labour have accused the Prime Minister of 'ducking and weaving' to get out of the debates and called for new laws to make sure leaders debates always take place. Ed Miliband said he would make 'fair and impartial leaders' debates' compulsory. But the proposal was mocked by the former SNP leader Alex Salmond today. Mr Salmond said he supported having TV debates but added: 'Could you actually pass a law which says that somebody has to turn up at a TV debate? 'What do you do when David Cameron doesn't turn up? Shall we stick him in the clink, do we put him in Wandsworth [prison] or somewhere?' 'I don't think you can actually do that. Surely it's the public who have got to enforce the TV debates by the reaction to people who are too scared to turn up.' Labour said the new system would work on similar lines to the current rules for planning the number, length and timing of party political broadcasts. That would mean parties are consulted but not given the right to veto the debates taking place. Ed Miliband has accused David Cameron of 'running scared' of facing him in televised leaders' debates . Labour believes this could be done by establishing the Broadcasters' Liaison Group as a trust in statute so it is the recognised legal body for deciding dates, format, volume and attendees of the debates. A Labour government would set a deadline of 2017 for changes to be put in place, giving more than enough time to plan the debates for a 2020 election. Mr Miliband told The Observer: 'In recent days the British public has been treated to the unedifying and tawdry spectacle of a prime minister seeking to duck out of the TV debates he once claimed to support with great enthusiasm.' He said the broadcasters had 'made it clear they would not be cowed by his tactics but it is wrong for them and the British public to have governing parties use this kind of pressure in campaign periods'. Mr Miliband added: 'It is time to ensure, once and for all, that these debates belong to the people, not the prime minister of the day.' The four broadcasters - the BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4 - have said they will stick to their previously-announced plans for three debates during the election campaign, and urged the Prime Minister to 'reconsider' his refusal to take part in these shows, including a head-to-head showdown with Mr Miliband. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan (left) said the broadcasters had made a 'mess' of the election debates, but Harriet Harman accused David Cameron of trying to scupper them . Mr Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown faced off in TV debates ahead of the 2010 general election . But Mr Cameron's chief spin doctor Craig Oliver said their response was 'disappointing' and restated the Prime Minister's 'final position' was for a single debate to take place in the week starting March 23. The broadcasters said they would stick to plans for a seven-way debate involving Mr Cameron, Mr Miliband, Nick Clegg of the Lib Dems and the leaders of the Greens, Ukip, Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru on ITV on April 2, followed by a second show on BBC featuring the same line-up on April 16. A final one-on-one clash with the Tory and Labour leaders invited is scheduled to be broadcast on Sky News and Channel 4 on April 30 - exactly a week before the May 7 election. In a letter to Mr Oliver, the broadcasters made clear they were ready to go ahead with the debates even if Mr Cameron decides not to take part. Downing Street's Director of Communications Craig Oliver has rejected the broadcasters' ultimatum . Education Secretary Nicky Morgan today accused the broadcasters of making a 'real hash' of trying to organise the debates. She said: 'The prime minister has made a very clear offer. A 90-minute debate involving everybody the week of March 23. 'So we get to the short campaign ... we can get out into the country.' Asked on Sky News' Murnaghan specifically about a head to head between Mr Miliband and Mr Cameron, she replied: 'They are up against each other pretty well every week at prime minister's questions. 'Frankly I think the broadcasters have made a real hash of this because the processes and discussions have been going on for months and months now. 'They invited this party and that party. The prime minister has made a very clear offer - get seven parties in the same place, have a 90-minute debate before the campaign starts. 'Otherwise all we are doing all the way through the campaign itself is talking about the debates. 'I think actually we ought to be ... getting out of Westminster, getting out of the TV studios ... talking to people on the campaign trail.' But deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman said there should be a legal framework underpinning the TV debates as there is in relation to pre-election broadcasts and election spending. She told Sky News' Murnaghan: 'I think the debates are an important part of our democracy, in which case let's not have the prime minister of the day ducking and weaving because he is afraid of actually justifying his record. 'Let's have a legal framework set out and then we won't have this all over again next time round. 'The bottom line is - it is not too late for David Cameron to actually say ... I think if somebody is saying I want to be prime minister, I want to be in Number 10 Downing Street, but by the way I'm not going to go out there and debate it, it's not acceptable. 'He should have the guts to go out there and say, this is what I have done since I have been prime minister and this is what I want to do next. 'The fact he won't do that shows that he is not prepared to justify what he has done over the last few years. 'All he seems to be doing is talking up other parties in fact. 'Our democracy is important, more important than any one particular party. It is about people in this country being able to see what they are voting for. 'Millions of people, more women than men, but lots of men as well, don't vote because they don't think politicians are straight with them, they are not prepared to level with them and I'm afraid the prime minister is proving himself a classic example of that.'
Broadcasters have insisted they will push ahead with three debates . Prime Minister has said he will only take part in one seven-way contest . BBC is understood to have backed down from threats to 'empty chair' him . But to meet strict impartiality rules it could offer the PM his own show . Comes as Labour unveils plan to make election debates compulsory . Leaders would not be forced to attend but debates would always go ahead .