Theresa May will not take part in TV debates because “it is not enough to see the demon, the demon must also see you,” she has said.

The Prime Minister will instead “get out and about” so people “feel their resolve evaporate under the weight of the cold black eyes boring into them, into their soul,” she told BBC Radio 4 Today.

Mrs May said: “As Prime Minister, I still go out and knock on doors in my constituency, because I believe that when a man looks into the abyss, the abyss must also look into him.”

Accused by presenter Nick Robinson of running scared from a debate with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, she said: “Scared of Corbyn? Fuck off.

“I face him every Wednesday in the House of Commons.

“He pisses his pants, loses his train of thought and ends up going along with whatever I want.

“That’s what I need from the electorate.”