The SNP are set to be frozen out of the first ever live televised election debate between the UK’s leading political parties prompting anger from the Scottish Government.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has condemned the move as "entirely unacceptable" saying the country cannot be silenced by "rigged debates".
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg are to go head-to-head in three separate events after broadcasters thrashed out a deal.
ITV, Sky and the BBC will transmit the 90-minute clashes, which are a mainstay of US politics but have never been held in the UK.
But it appears there will be no room at the table for SNP leader Alex Salmond.
He said: "It is entirely unacceptable to Scotland as well as to the SNP for the broadcasters to exclude the party that forms the government of Scotland - and indeed is now leading in Westminster election polls.
"If these debates are to be at all relevant to their audiences, they must reflect the democratic reality of Scotland and political diversity across the UK. And that must include SNP involvement in debates broadcast in Scotland.
"The fact is that the General Election in Scotland will be a two-horse race between the SNP and Labour - and the most recent Scottish poll for Westminster put the SNP ahead, at 34% compared to 32% for Labour, 15% for the Tories, and 12% for the Lib Dems."
Mr Salmond said broadcasters have a public duty to represent audiences across the whole of the UK and said he would be seeking guarantees that this will happen.
He said: "The broadcasters have got to meet their public service obligations to audiences across the UK, and for them to propose debates which signally fail to do so shows an extraordinarily high-handed attitude and depressingly metropolitan mindset. We have had leaders' debates in Scotland for many years, so there is nothing new in that.
"The broadcasters would do well to recall the debacle experienced by the BBC's Panorama programme in 1995, when they were forced not to broadcast an interview with the Prime Minister in Scotland because it breached the rules of impartiality during a Scottish local election.
"We shall seek guarantees of inclusion from the broadcasters, given their inescapable duty to ensure fairness and impartiality in election-related coverage in Scotland."
Mr Salmond added: "Sky has made some constructive suggestions, but we have had no proposals from the BBC or ITV - which is extraordinary, given that these broadcasters have the greatest public service obligations.
"We are always prepared to be flexible about options for the format, but the party of government in Scotland must as a matter of principle and proper democratic practice be included in any UK-wide debates."
He also said that the governing parties of Scotland and indeed Wales "cannot have our voices silenced by rigged debates".
Before, the opposition parties said Mr Salmond has no right to feature in the UK debates because he is not standing to be Prime Minister of the UK.
Live television debates have been attributed for raising public interest in US elections.
Critics argue that such a concept is inappropriate in UK politics as constituents vote for a local MP rather than for the head of the party.
It is widely believed that the general election will be called for May 6 next year.
Under the terms of the agreement Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will appear in each of the debates which will all follow the same format, with around half of the discussion time being themed.
The first debate will be produced by ITV with presenter Alastair Stewart; Sky will produce the second presented by Adam Boulton; and David Dimbleby will present the third for the BBC.
The BBC and Sky will make their programmes available to other broadcasters simultaneously while ITV will theirs available immediately after transmission.
Discussions between the broadcasters and the parties will resume in the New Year to finalise the detailed arrangements.
