PERTH MSP Roseanna Cunningham is calling on her Holyrood colleagues to defend the right of The Black Watch to wear the red hackle at all times.

Ms Cunningham has lodged a motion in parliament highlighting army plans to renege on a commitment that the distinctive hackle would be retained as part of the uniform of The Black Watch battalion of the amalgamated Royal Regiment of Scotland.

“All the promises about retaining ‘golden threads’ distinctive of individual regiments, such as the red hackle of The Black Watch and the blue hackle of the Highlanders, have proved to be empty promises,” she said yesterday.

“By breaking this promise the Army Board are snapping the golden thread of identity which they recognised is so important to recruitment.

“My colleague Pete Wishart MP is raising the matter in the House of Commons and I wanted to give members of the Scottish parliament an opportunity to voice their opposition.

“It is just under a year since the parliament voted in support of the retention of the historic Scottish infantry regiments.

“My motion gives MSPs who supported that position then the chance to renew that commitment, and gives those whose support for the Government’s plans was bought on the basis of the retention of individual identities, the opportunity to express their anger.”

Under the proposed dress rules soldiers could wear the red hackle on combat duty, but not on parade.

The news provoked a furious reaction from serving soldiers and veterans. After a meeting of senior regiment figures at Balhousie Castle in Perth last week Brigadier Garry Barnett said, “The decision has overturned much good work that has led to our serving battalions getting on with the formation of a new regiment and making the best of it.

“We believe this decision on dress is likely to make the manning of the Scottish Infantry more difficult and so the defence of our country will suffer.”