LEANNE WOOD slammed plans yesterday to lock Plaid Cymru out of televised leaders’ debates — but said she was not prepared to take legal action to win election airtime.

Ms Wood said the right of smaller parties to debate alongside Tory PM David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband was a “question of basic democracy.

“As things stand the reality on the television will be distorted,” she told her party faithful and people watching at home.

“The truth will not be televised. And that is why we should be there. The case for Wales deserves to be heard.”

But Ms Wood told the Morning Star that Plaid would not follow the Greens’ lead by threatening legal action.

She said: “We have a choice really, it’s either to pursue a legal route which could be expensive and time consuming or we can focus on having more direct conversations with people on the doorstep and through social media.”