Michael Gove is being lined up to appear on the same TV programme as David Cameron for a debate over Britain’s future in Europe to be screened days before the referendum.
The justice secretary will accept an invitation to appear on a Question Time-style BBC show eight days before Britain goes to the polls on June 23.
Mr Cameron and Mr Gove would take questions from an audience in a show hosted by David Dimbleby. They would not appear on stage simultaneously, a move that broadcasters and Europe campaigners hope will mean the prime minister is prepared to appear even though he is reluctant for cabinet members to debate one another on the issue.
Huge obstacles remain and a final deal is unlikely to be agreed until the Electoral Commission designates the lead In and Out campaigns in April.
Mr Gove’s decision to appear would break the spirit of a cabinet agreement not to engage in “blue on blue” warfare between cabinet ministers that could cause long-lasting divisions inside the Tory party.
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Allies of Mr Gove said that they expected him to be put under huge pressure to pull out of a debate. No decisions have been made and Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, may instead represent the Out campaign.
Downing Street said that the prime minister was happy to look at any format. A spokesman said that No 10 had not definitively ruled out participating in the debate against Mr Gove but believed that the format of the crucial final encounter should be broadened beyond two Conservative MPs.
Reports that George Osborne could face Mr Johnson in a debate were denied by Downing Street, the Treasury and the Vote Leave campaign.
BBC One is planning two other major debate programmes in the run-up to the referendum.
The first, aimed at young voters, will be hosted by Victoria Derbyshire in Glasgow on May 19.
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As the campaign reaches its climax, Dimbleby will be joined by Mishal Husain and Emily Maitlis at the SSE Arena, Wembley, for the BBC’s biggest campaign event. Thousands of voters will be invited to question representatives from the In and Out camps on June 21. Three participants are expected on each side, with Vote Leave suggesting that it would put up one Tory, one Labour and one business figure.
Meanwhile Dominic Cummings, the campaign director of Vote Leave, pre-empted a formal part of the referendum process by describing his group as the official Out campaign.
In an email sent on Wednesday morning to advertising agencies and leaked to The Guardian, Mr Cummings asked whether they would like to “help us spend 7 million quid” during the campaign.
He wrote: “Hello. I’m campaign director of Vote Leave. We will be the official leave campaign in the imminent referendum. We need an agency to help us spend 7 million quid. If interested could we talk asap? We have Boris and Michael Gove on board plus Labour and business people.”
The email caused surprise because the Electoral Commission has yet to designate the lead campaign groups on either side. Andy Wigmore, head of communications for Leave.eu, part of the Go movement which is also applying for designation, said that it had written to the Electoral Commission requesting public clarification.
