Cameron says he could not save regiments

• Leading Tory contender says too much time elapsed to reverse mergers

• Rival David Davis insists he would reverse mergers on becoming PM

• Scotland's six infantry regiments merged into super unit by government

Key quote

"It is regrettable what has happened to Scotland's regiments. It should not have. I think the government has made a terrible mistake, but four years down the road it may be impossible to disinter the regiments from what is being proposed" - David Cameron, MP

Story in full THE fate of Scotland's six infantry regiments was all but sealed last night when David Cameron, the front-runner for the Conservative leadership, admitted he would not be able to save them if he became prime minister.

Mr Cameron said that too much time would have elapsed by the time the Tories returned to power, even if they won the next election, to reverse the decision to amalgamate Scotland's individual regiments.

This was not a view shared by David Davis, Mr Cameron's challenger, who insisted that he would reverse the decision if he became prime minister.

But Mr Cameron is leading the race by a considerable margin and it is his views that are expected to matter if the Tories win the next election.

Speaking in Perth ahead of a leadership hustings meeting last night, Mr Cameron said that it would be "extremely difficult" to save the regiments.

He said: "It is regrettable what has happened to Scotland's regiments. It should not have. I think the government has made a terrible mistake, but four years down the road it may be impossible to disinter the regiments from what is being proposed."

The campaign to save Scotland's six infantry regiments dominated the election campaign north of the Border this year.

The Tories fought a vociferous campaign against the proposed merger into one super-regiment, the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and promised to reverse the changes if they were returned to power.

Mr Cameron's admission that a future Conservative government would not be able to do this marks not only a reversal of party policy, but a major blow to the campaigners who still believe there is hope of keeping the distinct identities of the regiments.

Stuart Crawford, who has campaigned to save the regiments, described Mr Cameron's comments as "deeply disappointing".

Mr Crawford, who served with the 4th Royal Tank Regiment, said: "This is a fundamental misjudgment of the mood of the Scottish people. Not only is it at variance with what the Conservative Party in the Scottish Parliament has been trying to achieve and has pledged, but it shows an inability or an unwillingness to get to grips with a very deep-seated problem.

"If this is the sort of stuff that David Cameron thinks will work, any hope of a Tory revival north of the Border must be a long way off."

Mr Davis, who is understood to be trailing Mr Cameron in the battle for the votes of Tory members, insisted that he would stand by the Scottish regiments, even though any prospect of a Tory victory is years away.

When asked if he would save the regiments, Mr Davis said: "Yes. The whole idea of the run- down of the armed forces and the overstretch of the armed forces is both a bad policy and is hard on the soldiers and their families."

Mr Cameron and Mr Davis were in Perth for the only Scottish leadership hustings of the campaign. The candidates addressed about 500 Conservative activists from around Scotland, putting the case as to why one of them should be party leader.

Before the meeting, both Mr Cameron and Mr Davis insisted that they would not give in to English demands and cut Scotland's generous share of public spending.

But Mr Cameron hinted that he would introduce tougher rules to deal with the relationship between the Scottish Parliament and Westminster in an attempt to avoid disputes which would inevitably arise between a Tory Westminster and a Labour-dominated Holyrood.