Brexit TV debate: Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn look to December 9 for head-to-head showdown

It means the live TV clash would come two days before MPs vote on the deal Ms May has secured with the EU

Theresa May has said that Sunday 9 December should be the date for the live television Brexit debate pitting her against Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn.

The prime minister settled on the day for the head-to-head clash as she starts a nationwide tour in a bid to convince voters the Brexit deal she has agreed with Brussels is the right one for the country.

It means the showdown will come just two day before MPs vote on the deal in the House of Commons with all signs pointing towards a major defeat for the prime minister.

In an interview with The Sun, Ms May said: “I am going to be going out and round the country. I am going to be talking to people.

“I am going to be explaining why I think this deal is the right deal for the UK – and yes, I am ready to debate it with Jeremy Corbyn. Because I have got a plan. He hasn’t got a plan.”

The paper reported that Downing Street is looking at the Sunday as the best time for the debate to have an impact on the MPs’ vote two days later.

In response to the challenge, Mr Corbyn was said to be eager to take on the prime minister.

“Jeremy would relish a head-to-head debate with Theresa May about her botched Brexit deal and the future of our country,” a Labour Party spokesperson said.

It came as one of Ms May’s staunchest allies, Sir Michael Fallon MP, said that her Brexit deal was in fact the “worst of all worlds”.

The former defence secretary confirmed he will not vote in favour of the agreement when it comes to Parliament, where he said it seems “doomed” to fail.

The MP for Sevenoaks, until now seen as a May loyalist, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “My fear is that this deal gives us the worst of all worlds – no guarantee of smooth trade in the future and no ability to reduce the tariffs that we need to conclude trade deals with the rest of the world.

“So, unless the House of Commons can be persuaded somehow that those are possible, then I think, yes, the deal is doomed.”

Up to 90 Conservative MPs are said to be ready to vote against her deal, while her Northern Irish DUP partners in government are also set to vote against it.