British leaders agree on televised debates

THE leaders of the three main British political parties have agreed to terms for a series of televised debates during the next general election campaign, it was announced last night.

The broadcasters BBC, ITV and Sky said that under the terms of the deals they would each be hosting one debate during the campaign.

The programmes, lasting between 85 and 90 minutes, will be filmed in front of a selected studio audience and will be broadcast in peak time.