Russia's Supreme Court announced Thursday that it has banned the Jehovah's Witnesses from operating in the country, ordering the religious group to close 395 of its local chapters.
The announcement came after the court accepted a request from the justice ministry that the religious organization be considered an extremist group.
The court also ordered the seizure of the group’s property.
Justice Ministry attorney Svetlana Borisova was quoted by the Interfax news agency in court Thursday as saying that the Jehovah's Witnesses "pose a threat to the rights of the citizens, public order and public security."
The Jehovah's Witnesses claim more than 170,000 adherents in Russia. The group has come under increasing pressure over the past year, including a ban on distributing literature deemed to violate Russia's anti-extremism laws. The religious group, which preaches door-to-door, rejects military service and blood transfusions.
Russian prosecutors have long cast the group as an organization that destroys families and spreads hatred, which it denies, according to Reuters.
The group said it would appeal the decision and if it is upheld, the case would be shifted to the European Court of Human Rights, the TASS news agency reported.
“We are greatly disappointed by this development and deeply concerned about how this will affect our religious activity,” Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, said in a statement. “We will appeal this decision, and we hope that our legal rights and protections as a peaceful religious group will be fully restored as soon as possible.”
Once the Supreme Court ruling is appealed, it will only go into effect when the appellate court announces its decision.
Friday, April 21, 2017
MS-13 gang: The story behind one of the world's most brutal street gangs
A string of brutal murders in the US has thrown a national spotlight on MS-13, a street gang that was born in LA but has roots in El Salvador.
The latest was a mass murder on Monday on Long Island, where the bodies of four males, including three teenagers, were found mangled in the woods, according to police.
President Trump tweeted to call the gang "bad". Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed to "devastate" it. Both blamed Obama-era immigration policy for its rise.
But what is MS-13 and is Obama really to blame?
A reputation for extreme violence
The gang began in the barrios of Los Angeles in LA during the 1980s, formed by immigrants who had fled El Salvador's long and brutal civil war. Other members came from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.
The MS stands for Mara Salvatrucha, said to be a combination of Mara, meaning gang, Salva, for Salvador, and trucha, which translates roughly into street smarts. The 13 represents the position of M in the alphabet.
MS-13 established a reputation for extreme violence and for killing with machetes. It took root in neighbourhoods dominated by Mexican gangs, and later expanded to other parts of the country.
According to the FBI, the gang has spread to 46 states.
In 2012, the US Treasury designated the gang a "transnational criminal organisation". It was the first street gang to receive the dubious honour, placing it alongside much larger international cartels like the Mexican Zetas, Japanese Yakuza and Italian Camorra.
Brutal initiations
MS-13 has been accused of recruiting poor and at-risk teenagers. Joining is said to require being "jumped in" - subjected to a vicious 13-second beating - and "getting wet" - carrying out a crime, often a murder, for the gang.
Leaving is potentially even more dangerous. Large chest tattoos brand members for life, and some factions are said to murder members who attempt to leave.
A 2008 FBI threat assessment put the size of MS-13 between 6,000 and 10,000 members in the US, making it one of the largest criminal enterprises in the country.
It is now larger outside the country, according to the agency. An anti-gang crackdown in the late 1990s saw hundreds of early members shipped back to Central American countries, where they established offshoots. Estimates put the number of members in Central American countries at at least 60,000.
The gang's annual revenue is about $31.2m (£23.4m) according to information from a large-scale Salvadorean police operation obtained by the El Faro newspaper - mainly from from drugs and extortion.
'Kill, rape, control'
Recent high-profile cases linked to the gang include the murder of two female high-school students who were attacked with a machete and baseball bat as they walked through their neighbourhood in New York last month - a revenge attack over a minor dispute, according to police.
Four alleged MS-13 members were charged with that crime. Another two alleged members were charged at the same time with the murder of a fellow gang member said to have violated gang protocol.
Miguel Alvarez-Flores, 22, and Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 18, laughed and waved at the cameras during their court appearance.
MS-13's motto is "kill, rape, control", according to one FBI gang specialistwho investigated the group.
Blaming Obama
Mr Trump and Mr Sessions have pointed the finger at former President Barack Obama over the spread of MS-13, alleging that his open-door immigration policies fuelled its growth.
But the gang formed and flourished in the US long before Mr Obama came to power. MS-13 was identified as a significant threat in the 1990s, and a special FBI taskforce was convened against the gang in 1994.
The latest was a mass murder on Monday on Long Island, where the bodies of four males, including three teenagers, were found mangled in the woods, according to police.
President Trump tweeted to call the gang "bad". Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed to "devastate" it. Both blamed Obama-era immigration policy for its rise.
But what is MS-13 and is Obama really to blame?
A reputation for extreme violence
The gang began in the barrios of Los Angeles in LA during the 1980s, formed by immigrants who had fled El Salvador's long and brutal civil war. Other members came from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.
The MS stands for Mara Salvatrucha, said to be a combination of Mara, meaning gang, Salva, for Salvador, and trucha, which translates roughly into street smarts. The 13 represents the position of M in the alphabet.
MS-13 established a reputation for extreme violence and for killing with machetes. It took root in neighbourhoods dominated by Mexican gangs, and later expanded to other parts of the country.
According to the FBI, the gang has spread to 46 states.
In 2012, the US Treasury designated the gang a "transnational criminal organisation". It was the first street gang to receive the dubious honour, placing it alongside much larger international cartels like the Mexican Zetas, Japanese Yakuza and Italian Camorra.
Brutal initiations
MS-13 has been accused of recruiting poor and at-risk teenagers. Joining is said to require being "jumped in" - subjected to a vicious 13-second beating - and "getting wet" - carrying out a crime, often a murder, for the gang.
Leaving is potentially even more dangerous. Large chest tattoos brand members for life, and some factions are said to murder members who attempt to leave.
A 2008 FBI threat assessment put the size of MS-13 between 6,000 and 10,000 members in the US, making it one of the largest criminal enterprises in the country.
It is now larger outside the country, according to the agency. An anti-gang crackdown in the late 1990s saw hundreds of early members shipped back to Central American countries, where they established offshoots. Estimates put the number of members in Central American countries at at least 60,000.
The gang's annual revenue is about $31.2m (£23.4m) according to information from a large-scale Salvadorean police operation obtained by the El Faro newspaper - mainly from from drugs and extortion.
'Kill, rape, control'
Recent high-profile cases linked to the gang include the murder of two female high-school students who were attacked with a machete and baseball bat as they walked through their neighbourhood in New York last month - a revenge attack over a minor dispute, according to police.
Four alleged MS-13 members were charged with that crime. Another two alleged members were charged at the same time with the murder of a fellow gang member said to have violated gang protocol.
The same month, two alleged members of the gang in Houston, Texas were charged with kidnapping three teenage girls, holding them hostage and raping them before shooting one dead on the side of the road.
Miguel Alvarez-Flores, 22, and Diego Hernandez-Rivera, 18, laughed and waved at the cameras during their court appearance.
MS-13's motto is "kill, rape, control", according to one FBI gang specialistwho investigated the group.
Blaming Obama
Mr Trump and Mr Sessions have pointed the finger at former President Barack Obama over the spread of MS-13, alleging that his open-door immigration policies fuelled its growth.
But the gang formed and flourished in the US long before Mr Obama came to power. MS-13 was identified as a significant threat in the 1990s, and a special FBI taskforce was convened against the gang in 1994.
"The big surge was during Bush-Cheney when the drivers of illegal migration in Central America grew, when various crackdowns on crime filled prisons to bursting point, and when funding for rehabilitation programs declined," Fulton T Armstrong, a research fellow at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, told fact-checking website Politifact.
"I have seen no evidence that the Obama administration can be blamed in any way for the existence or activities of the gang in the US," said Ioan Grillo, author of a book on US gang crime.
The Obama administration also prioritised the deportation of gang criminals, including MS-13 members, in an aggressive deportation program.
Politifact rated Mr Trump's claim as false.
The Obama administration also prioritised the deportation of gang criminals, including MS-13 members, in an aggressive deportation program.
Politifact rated Mr Trump's claim as false.
No election for Farage: Is he too big for UKIP?
Four years ago, when UKIP failed to win the Eastleigh by-election by just 1,771 votes, I suggested to Nigel Farage that he had “bottled it” by not standing.
With Diane James as its candidate, UKIP came a close second behind the Liberal Democrats and pushed David Cameron's Conservatives into third place.
"I have been accused of many, many sins and most of them are true," he replied with typical Farage bluster. "But I could never be accused of bottling anything in my life."
And he claimed, rather unconvincingly: "I wouldn't have done any better than Diane did." I didn't believe it then and I still think he could have won had he stood in Eastleigh in 2013.
Now, after announcing that he won't be a candidate in the 8 June General Election, he is claiming he could have won Clacton, now that former UKIP MP Douglas Carswell is not standing either.
"It would be a very easy win and for me, a personal vindication to get into the House of Commons after all these years of standing in elections," he wrote in The Daily Telegraph.
Claiming he would have more influence over Brexit as an MEP, he wrote: "If I compare the platform I have in Strasbourg to being a backbench MP, there is frankly no comparison.
"The Brexit negotiations will take place in Brussels and the European Parliament will not only have a large impact on them, but ultimately will have the right of veto any deal at the end of the two-year process.
"I believe I can use my profile in European politics to put real pressure on MEPs to vote for a sensible deal with the UK."
Many people will be sceptical about his latest claims, too. First the claim that he would have won Clacton easily and second that he will have more influence as an MEP.
Mr Farage has spent 18 years rubbishing the European Parliament in which he sits, and - as he says - spending 23 years trying to get elected to the House of Commons.
He has tried - and failed - to get elected at Westminster seven times, beginning with the previous Eastleigh by-election in 1994 and then in Salisbury in the 1997 general election, Bexhill and Battle in 2001 and South Thanet in 2005.
He stood in the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election in 2006, took on Commons Speaker John Bercow in Buckingham in 2010 and then fought a high-profile and controversial battle against the Conservatives in South Thanet once again in 2015.
Yet he has been a member of the European Parliament he so despises - or did until now, it appears - since 1999, representing South East England and being re-elected three times, in 2004, 2009 and 2014.
So why has he ruled out standing to become an MP for an eighth time. Has he bottled it again? Is he "frit", to use Margaret Thatcher's famous old Lincolnshire word?
He had two options: Clacton, as he has acknowledged, or Thanet South again, the seat in his native Kent which he lost to a former UKIP leader-turned-Tory right-winger, Craig Mackinlay, by 2,812 votes.
That contest - along with those in several other key marginals - is now mired in a Conservative Party election expenses scandal, with the Crown Prosecution Service threatening possible charges next month during the election campaign.
So why has he appeared to bottle it again? Chances are he weighed up his prospects, looked at the opinion polls - which show UKIP down to 7% - and concluded that he could end up losing yet again.
Then there's the bigger picture. UKIP has always been accused of being a one-man band and since he stepped down as leader the party has appeared to be in a perpetual leadership crisis.
With his friendship with Donald Trump, a new career as a "shock jock" radio presenter and the chance to earn thousands on the after-dinner speaking circuit, he is now a full-blown international celebrity and bigger than his party.
Besides his nightly LBC show, he is a regular contributor to Fox News in the US and he is in demand for speaking engagements in the States as well as the UK. And, to be fair, he's a brilliantly witty after-dinner speaker.
UKIP, meanwhile is fielding far fewer candidates in the local elections on May 4 than four years ago and is predicted to suffer 80 to 90 losses, more than half of the seats it won in the same elections in 2013.
Does all this mean UKIP is dead. Not necessarily. But UKIP's fortunes are certainly on the way down as the Tories claim to be the Brexit party.
Nigel Farage's career, however, is on the way up. He's got bottle, certainly, just not for the House of Commons any more.
With Diane James as its candidate, UKIP came a close second behind the Liberal Democrats and pushed David Cameron's Conservatives into third place.
"I have been accused of many, many sins and most of them are true," he replied with typical Farage bluster. "But I could never be accused of bottling anything in my life."
And he claimed, rather unconvincingly: "I wouldn't have done any better than Diane did." I didn't believe it then and I still think he could have won had he stood in Eastleigh in 2013.
Now, after announcing that he won't be a candidate in the 8 June General Election, he is claiming he could have won Clacton, now that former UKIP MP Douglas Carswell is not standing either.
"It would be a very easy win and for me, a personal vindication to get into the House of Commons after all these years of standing in elections," he wrote in The Daily Telegraph.
Claiming he would have more influence over Brexit as an MEP, he wrote: "If I compare the platform I have in Strasbourg to being a backbench MP, there is frankly no comparison.
"The Brexit negotiations will take place in Brussels and the European Parliament will not only have a large impact on them, but ultimately will have the right of veto any deal at the end of the two-year process.
"I believe I can use my profile in European politics to put real pressure on MEPs to vote for a sensible deal with the UK."
Many people will be sceptical about his latest claims, too. First the claim that he would have won Clacton easily and second that he will have more influence as an MEP.
Mr Farage has spent 18 years rubbishing the European Parliament in which he sits, and - as he says - spending 23 years trying to get elected to the House of Commons.
He has tried - and failed - to get elected at Westminster seven times, beginning with the previous Eastleigh by-election in 1994 and then in Salisbury in the 1997 general election, Bexhill and Battle in 2001 and South Thanet in 2005.
He stood in the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election in 2006, took on Commons Speaker John Bercow in Buckingham in 2010 and then fought a high-profile and controversial battle against the Conservatives in South Thanet once again in 2015.
Yet he has been a member of the European Parliament he so despises - or did until now, it appears - since 1999, representing South East England and being re-elected three times, in 2004, 2009 and 2014.
So why has he ruled out standing to become an MP for an eighth time. Has he bottled it again? Is he "frit", to use Margaret Thatcher's famous old Lincolnshire word?
He had two options: Clacton, as he has acknowledged, or Thanet South again, the seat in his native Kent which he lost to a former UKIP leader-turned-Tory right-winger, Craig Mackinlay, by 2,812 votes.
That contest - along with those in several other key marginals - is now mired in a Conservative Party election expenses scandal, with the Crown Prosecution Service threatening possible charges next month during the election campaign.
So why has he appeared to bottle it again? Chances are he weighed up his prospects, looked at the opinion polls - which show UKIP down to 7% - and concluded that he could end up losing yet again.
Then there's the bigger picture. UKIP has always been accused of being a one-man band and since he stepped down as leader the party has appeared to be in a perpetual leadership crisis.
With his friendship with Donald Trump, a new career as a "shock jock" radio presenter and the chance to earn thousands on the after-dinner speaking circuit, he is now a full-blown international celebrity and bigger than his party.
Besides his nightly LBC show, he is a regular contributor to Fox News in the US and he is in demand for speaking engagements in the States as well as the UK. And, to be fair, he's a brilliantly witty after-dinner speaker.
UKIP, meanwhile is fielding far fewer candidates in the local elections on May 4 than four years ago and is predicted to suffer 80 to 90 losses, more than half of the seats it won in the same elections in 2013.
Does all this mean UKIP is dead. Not necessarily. But UKIP's fortunes are certainly on the way down as the Tories claim to be the Brexit party.
Nigel Farage's career, however, is on the way up. He's got bottle, certainly, just not for the House of Commons any more.
Star Wars' Boyega searched at airports 'every single time'
Star Wars actor John Boyega has revealed he suffered "consistent" security checks at airports when "hustling and auditioning" in Los Angeles.
The 25-year-old told the Evening Standard magazine: "I'd get cheap flights and stay there for two weeks or whatever. And every time I was getting these random checks. Every. Single. Time."
He added: "When you fly a lot and it happens three or four times there's an element of: 'okay, I'm still not a terrorist'."
"I wish I remembered the airline because I called them out on it, too. Like: This stuff ain't right."
He also shared his thoughts on recent comments by US actor Samuel L Jackson in which he criticised black British talent for taking African-American parts.
"Damn, Sam," Boyega said.
"I love him but he didn't have to go there. I was actually going to send him a message to check that he's cool.
"But look, I get it, I just think there's no end result in black Brits and African Americans going back and forth at each other," Boyega added.
"I rate Sam and he's always showed me love - he's like a big uncle - but, across the planet, the black experience is a layered one and his comments didn't represent that."
Boyega rose to fame after being cast as Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and is now staging a return to theatre after eight years out.
"The rehearsal process is something that you forget about when you do movies all the time," he said.
"On movies you don't really get time to rehearse, so that was a shock to me.
"On the second day, I was thinking to myself: Oi mate, why don't you know these lines? Because on a film you need to be ready to go," he added.
"This feels like a holiday. A really strenuous holiday with some good people."
Boyega will play the lead role in Georg Buchner's Woyzeck at London's Old Vic from 15 May.
The 25-year-old told the Evening Standard magazine: "I'd get cheap flights and stay there for two weeks or whatever. And every time I was getting these random checks. Every. Single. Time."
He added: "When you fly a lot and it happens three or four times there's an element of: 'okay, I'm still not a terrorist'."
"I wish I remembered the airline because I called them out on it, too. Like: This stuff ain't right."
He also shared his thoughts on recent comments by US actor Samuel L Jackson in which he criticised black British talent for taking African-American parts.
"Damn, Sam," Boyega said.
"I love him but he didn't have to go there. I was actually going to send him a message to check that he's cool.
"But look, I get it, I just think there's no end result in black Brits and African Americans going back and forth at each other," Boyega added.
"I rate Sam and he's always showed me love - he's like a big uncle - but, across the planet, the black experience is a layered one and his comments didn't represent that."
Boyega rose to fame after being cast as Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and is now staging a return to theatre after eight years out.
"The rehearsal process is something that you forget about when you do movies all the time," he said.
"On movies you don't really get time to rehearse, so that was a shock to me.
"On the second day, I was thinking to myself: Oi mate, why don't you know these lines? Because on a film you need to be ready to go," he added.
"This feels like a holiday. A really strenuous holiday with some good people."
Boyega will play the lead role in Georg Buchner's Woyzeck at London's Old Vic from 15 May.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Police prepared to shoot terrorist attack drivers
Police may now have to shoot terrorists at the wheel of vehicles to stop them being used in attacks, the national lead for armed policing has said.
Officers were previously told not to shoot drivers of moving vehicles because of the additional dangers it posed, Simon Chesterman said.
But he said the approach had changed in the wake of attacks such as those in Westminster, Nice and Berlin.
He added officers now had ammunition to penetrate doors and windows.
Last month, Khalid Masood killed four people on London's Westminster Bridge when he mounted the pavement in a car and drove into pedestrians.
One of the biggest challenges previously faced by police was the risk of bullets bouncing off the glass of vehicles in such attacks, said Mr Chesterman, of the National Police Chiefs' Council.
'Horrible tactics'
"We've seen some very horrible and different tactics lately involving vehicles and lorries," he said.
"Within our policy, we used to talk about not shooting at a moving vehicle because of the danger we might cause if we fired at a driver.
"But if the vehicle is being used as a weapon in the first place, there aren't many tactics available in relation to stopping it, particularly a very large lorry.
"Driving a vehicle in front of it for example is not going to stop it. So you need to shoot the driver," he said.
Officers were previously told not to shoot drivers of moving vehicles because of the additional dangers it posed, Simon Chesterman said.
But he said the approach had changed in the wake of attacks such as those in Westminster, Nice and Berlin.
He added officers now had ammunition to penetrate doors and windows.
Last month, Khalid Masood killed four people on London's Westminster Bridge when he mounted the pavement in a car and drove into pedestrians.
One of the biggest challenges previously faced by police was the risk of bullets bouncing off the glass of vehicles in such attacks, said Mr Chesterman, of the National Police Chiefs' Council.
'Horrible tactics'
"We've seen some very horrible and different tactics lately involving vehicles and lorries," he said.
"Within our policy, we used to talk about not shooting at a moving vehicle because of the danger we might cause if we fired at a driver.
"But if the vehicle is being used as a weapon in the first place, there aren't many tactics available in relation to stopping it, particularly a very large lorry.
"Driving a vehicle in front of it for example is not going to stop it. So you need to shoot the driver," he said.
London Overground delays at Euston continue after fire
London Overground services from Euston are not expected to fully resume until this afternoon following a fire which closed the station.
National Rail said that while other services were starting to return to normal this morning, Overground trains between the station and Harrow & Wealdstone, in northwest London, would not be running until 1pm.
All trains going in and out of Euston were cancelled on Wednesday afternoon after a cable fire next to the track near South Hampstead caused a power cut.
The disruption affected commuters hoping to travel on Midland, Virgin and Southern services to destinations including Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
According to National Rail, a few services were able to leave the station - the UK's fifth busiest - before it was closed again due to poor lighting.
In a statement, it said engineers worked through to night to restore power but that further work still needs to be carried out.
It said: "Train services are returning to normal on the West Coast main line today after Network Rail engineers restored power overnight to London Euston and its signals - the railway's traffic lights - following a cable fire at South Hampstead yesterday.
"While our engineers have restored power to Euston, they have yet to replace the 100-metre stretch of fire-destroyed, 11,000-volt cable at South Hampstead. They will do this job overnight tonight."
Passengers are advised to check for the latest information before they travel.
National Rail said that while other services were starting to return to normal this morning, Overground trains between the station and Harrow & Wealdstone, in northwest London, would not be running until 1pm.
All trains going in and out of Euston were cancelled on Wednesday afternoon after a cable fire next to the track near South Hampstead caused a power cut.
The disruption affected commuters hoping to travel on Midland, Virgin and Southern services to destinations including Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
According to National Rail, a few services were able to leave the station - the UK's fifth busiest - before it was closed again due to poor lighting.
In a statement, it said engineers worked through to night to restore power but that further work still needs to be carried out.
It said: "Train services are returning to normal on the West Coast main line today after Network Rail engineers restored power overnight to London Euston and its signals - the railway's traffic lights - following a cable fire at South Hampstead yesterday.
"While our engineers have restored power to Euston, they have yet to replace the 100-metre stretch of fire-destroyed, 11,000-volt cable at South Hampstead. They will do this job overnight tonight."
Passengers are advised to check for the latest information before they travel.
Theresa May may agree to televised Q&A - but no debate
Theresa May could agree to a televised question-and-answer session with voters after ruling out a head-to-head election debate with other party leaders.
The Prime Minister has been accused by rivals of running scared and trying to avoid scrutiny after she rejected the idea of TV debates, saying she preferred to get "out and about" meeting voters.
She is now understood to be open to the idea of a televised Q&A session after ITV confirmed it would be holding a leaders' debate even though she was refusing to take part.
A Sky Data poll suggests that 64% of Britons believe there should be televised debates between party leaders during the General Election campaign.
Only 31% of those surveyed thought no such events should take place between now and polling day on 8 June - while 5% said they were unsure.
After telling the Commons on Wednesday she was proud of what the Conservatives had achieved in government, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked: "If Theresa May is so proud of her record, why won't she debate it?
"She cannot be allowed to run away from her duty to democracy and refuse to let the British people hear the arguments directly."
When asked by Sky News after a campaign event in Bolton whether she would reconsider taking part in televised debates, Mrs May said: "I'm going to be campaigning out and around every community in the country."
Downing Street sources later told Sky News that Mrs May was considering a number of TV programme formats, but reiterated that there would be no head-to-head debates.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told Sky News he was "very disappointed" that Mrs May was unwilling to attend any TV debate.
He said: "It seems to me she feels she has got everything to lose by going on television and debating myself and others."
Both Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party have called on broadcasters who hold TV debates to "empty chair" Theresa May if she declines their invitations.
During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, the SNP's leader in the Commons, Angus Robertson, asked: "If the Prime Minister is so confident of her hard-Brexit, pro-austerity, anti-immigration case, why won't she debate opposition leaders?"
Although a mainstay of US presidential elections for decades, the first live TV debates during a UK general election were only held in 2010.
The Prime Minister has been accused by rivals of running scared and trying to avoid scrutiny after she rejected the idea of TV debates, saying she preferred to get "out and about" meeting voters.
She is now understood to be open to the idea of a televised Q&A session after ITV confirmed it would be holding a leaders' debate even though she was refusing to take part.
A Sky Data poll suggests that 64% of Britons believe there should be televised debates between party leaders during the General Election campaign.
Only 31% of those surveyed thought no such events should take place between now and polling day on 8 June - while 5% said they were unsure.
After telling the Commons on Wednesday she was proud of what the Conservatives had achieved in government, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked: "If Theresa May is so proud of her record, why won't she debate it?
"She cannot be allowed to run away from her duty to democracy and refuse to let the British people hear the arguments directly."
When asked by Sky News after a campaign event in Bolton whether she would reconsider taking part in televised debates, Mrs May said: "I'm going to be campaigning out and around every community in the country."
Downing Street sources later told Sky News that Mrs May was considering a number of TV programme formats, but reiterated that there would be no head-to-head debates.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told Sky News he was "very disappointed" that Mrs May was unwilling to attend any TV debate.
He said: "It seems to me she feels she has got everything to lose by going on television and debating myself and others."
Both Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party have called on broadcasters who hold TV debates to "empty chair" Theresa May if she declines their invitations.
During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, the SNP's leader in the Commons, Angus Robertson, asked: "If the Prime Minister is so confident of her hard-Brexit, pro-austerity, anti-immigration case, why won't she debate opposition leaders?"
Although a mainstay of US presidential elections for decades, the first live TV debates during a UK general election were only held in 2010.
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