Jeremy Corbyn calls on Prime Minister to stick to agreement over Andrew Neil interview

Jeremy Corbyn has called on Boris Johnson to stick to the agreement as the Prime Minister continued to refuse to commit to a grilling from the BBC’s Andrew Neil.

The Labour leader faced 30 minutes of brutal questioning during a sit down accepted by all the leaders from the main parties – except the Tories.

Mr Corbyn called on Mr Johnson to stick to his side of the deal when asked about the debates, as he launched Labour’s policy to slash rail fares by a third if the party wins the December 12 election.

“I think all of us should be open to questioning in an election campaign and that’s what makes a proper democratic debate,” Mr Corbyn said outside London’s Finsbury Park station on Monday.

“There was an agreement on how the broadcasters would handle the debates and the one-to one-interviews, we’ve stuck to our side of it, I think Mr Johnson should do the same.”

Mr Corbyn’s interview with Mr Neil was interpreted as being a disastrous performance, with the Labour leader refusing four times to apologise to the Jewish community over anti-Semitism within his party.

There have been widespread calls for Mr Johnson to subject himself to the same level of scrutiny so voters can be equipped with adequate knowledge before they go to the ballot boxes.

However, as recently as Sunday the PM refused to commit to the grilling.

Appearing on the Andrew Marr show, Mr Johnson claimed he was "perfectly happy to be interviewed by any interviewer called Andrew from the BBC”.

However, he said he had taken part in many interviews during the campaign, adding that “no previous prime minister has done one-on-one TV debates”.

Marr pushed the PM on the subject saying: "Everyone else has done it, why won't you?"

But ultimately, Mr Johnson failed to commit to an interview. He has been accused of trying to avoid the testing journalist.

He also refused to appear on Channel 4 News's climate change debate last week, where he and Nigel Farage - also a no show - were replaced with melting ice sculptures.

The BBC had barred Mr Johnson from talking on the Marr show unless he agreed to a TV conversation with Neil however, in the wake of the London Bridge attack, they allowed it.

The public broadcaster has been criticised for airing Mr Corbyn's interview before securing an interview with Mr Johnson.