Tories want Cameron on primetime ITV slot

David Cameron should be given a prime-time ITV slot in the wake of Gordon Brown's interview with Piers Morgan, the Conservatives are demanding.

Following largely favourable reactions to Mr Brown's appearance, the Tories are keen that the broadcaster gives similar airtime to their leader.

"We don't want to go down the Piers Morgan route. With 80 days to go before the election, we would be looking for and expecting equal treatment," one senior source told the Standard today.

Mr Morgan is a friend of Mr Brown's and was seen to have largely asked "soft" questions that allowed the Prime Minister to get across his private side.

Dubbed "Operation Human", the strategy is to connect Mr Brown with the voters by highlighting his commitment to his young family and his personal "backstory".

Aides today played down suggestions that there was a "masochism" strategy similar to Tony Blair's infamous attempt in the 2005 general election to meet head-on his critics over Iraq.

Mr Cameron's own appearance on ITV, which would in turn prompt calls for Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg to get his own show too, could be a documentary rather than an interview. Conservative party aides today laughed off the idea of Jeremy Clarkson, a well-known critic of Mr Brown, being drafted in as a celebrity interviewer.

During the ITV interview, the Prime Minister spoke of the loss of his daughter Jennifer and admitted that he "felt angry" about Mr Blair winning the leadership of the Labour party.

Mr Cameron today slammed the way Mr Brown was given an easy ride in the interview. "I'm not sure that Piers Morgan is going to be in line for a Pulitzer Prize, given the line of questioning," the Tory leader said.

But Mr Cameron said that he felt that it was important for party leaders to show their human side.