TELEVISION CELEBRITY Lorraine Kelly has joined the fight to save The Black Watch from defence cuts, branding the Ministry of Defence proposals as “madness.”

The GMTV presenter says she is 100% behind the Save the Scottish Regiments campaign.

She said, “How can we possibly ask our troops to fight and die for us and put their lives on the line in Iraq, and then stand by and allow their regiments to be disbanded?

“In these times of increased terrorism and uncertainty in the world, this is the last thing the Government should be doing.

“It makes no sense, it is stupid and I know that the people if Scotland will be 100% behind the campaign to stop this madness.

“I want to let The Black Watch troops serving in Iraq know that we are all thinking about you and we appreciate all that you are doing.

“Obviously we have no real idea of what you are going through.

“The TV reports and newspaper articles can only tell us so much and it is impossible to know just how bad it is unless you are actually there.

“Please take care of yourselves and I hope you all return back home to your families as soon as possible.”

Jeff Duncan, from the Save the Scottish Regiments campaign, welcomed Lorraine to the campaign and hoped her involvement will encourage more people to come forward.

“I think it’s wonderful that Lorraine has decided to give her backing to the campaign.

“Every person that comes forward to lend their support counts but to have someone of her stature come forward is fantastic.

“Lorraine means a lot to the people of Tayside and Fife and it shows that it’s not just people who have a direct tie to The Black Watch who know that the regiment disbanding will affect them.

“The Black Watch disbanding will affect entire communities.

“I think until now some people have been worried about publicly coming out and saying they support the campaign, thinking that it might be too political.

“But the campaign isn’t just political, it’s about protecting communities and protecting Scottish heritage.

“Lorraine’s message of support meant a lot to everyone here working on the campaign.”

Mr Duncan is organising a mass rally in Dundee on October 23 and is encouraging those who wish to participate to book tickets through the website www.dundeerally.co.uk.