Alex Salmond rejects two BBC debates with Alistair Darling

Alex Salmond has turned down two offers of a head-to-head BBC debate with Alistair Darling despite the First Minister’s boast his opponent has the “heebie jeebies” about taking him on, the Telegraph can disclose today.

Sources close to the negotiations between the two sides said Mr Darling, the former Labour Chancellor, accepted invitations to debate Mr Salmond on August 12 then August 21 but the SNP leader declined both.

It is understood the First Minister is attempting to push the televised showdown back to as close as possible to the referendum’s polling day on September 18 in the hope of maximising its impact.

With the pro-separation Yes Scotland campaign still lagging behind in the opinion polls and only a few weeks to go, the pressure is on Mr Salmond to produce a game-changing performance.

However, the pro-UK Better Together campaign is adamant the debate should be held before Scots who have opted for a postal vote start casting their ballot papers. It is expected that postal votes will be issued around August 26.

The BBC was last night said to be “desperately scrambling” to find a compromise acceptable to both sides amid concern over whether the head-to-head will happen.

Although the Corporation is planning another debate a week before polling day in Glasgow’s Hydro arena, it is thought this will not be a direct contest between Mr Salmond and Mr Darling.

The pair will face each other next week on STV in the first of a series of showdowns that were expected to take place before polling day, with Mr Salmond claiming that “Alistair will have the heebie jeebies now.”

Talks over this debate initially collapsed in acrimony following a disagreement over the date, with the impasse broken when Mr Darling agreed to the First Minister’s demand that it be delayed until after the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

But senior Better Together insiders said there would be no compromise on their insistence that the BBC debate take place before Scots start voting by post.

“A quarter of people will vote by post at least, so we don’t think that it is fair that the debates happen after the time in which these people will be casting their vote,” one said.

“The BBC are desperately scrambling about trying to find another date that works. We have told them that we are happy to accept another date so long as it meets our basic – and pretty much only – requirement of it being before the postal ballots go out.”

If a deal can be reached, it is expected the BBC debate will see Mr Salmond and Mr Darling answer questions from members of the public in a format similar to Question Time.

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said: “The First Minister looks forward to debating Alistair Darling on the BBC on a date that his diary permits. The Yes case is based on substance, the No campaign seems to be all about silly process stories.”

A BBC spokesman said: “We will announce referendum programme details when they are finalised.”