The UK military looks set for change

The speculation came after the Ministry of Defence confirmed that fewer recruits were being accepted into full time Army training in Scotland.

But officials have denied a "temporary ceiling" on training capacity was part of a running down of the regiments.

It is understood that Chancellor Gordon Brown wants the defence budget cut by more than �1bn.

The MoD has also confirmed that the Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon will make a statement and that "tough choices" have to be made.

No 'concrete' plans

This has led to mounting speculation that Scotland will have one "super-regiment" in the future.

Opposition politicians are furious at the prospect of fewer soldiers, especially after the war in Iraq.

MoD officials have confirmed that recruitment targets have been cut for the moment, but insist the two issues are not linked.

A spokesman said that at the moment there were no "concrete" plans to disband or amalgamate any regiments.

Look where we're using our forces... cutting back the numbers would be very foolish Sir Timothy Garden

Sir Timothy Garden, a defence analyst with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and former assistant chief of defence staff, said he believed the cuts would go ahead.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: "There is no doubt that a lot of preliminary work has been done into how they would manage with the amount of money they are expecting to get."

But he forecast problems with a cut in troop numbers.

He added: "The development of more precise weapons suggests that you can get by with fewer people operating the systems and perhaps fewer troops on the ground.

"But as we've seen in Iraq, the big problem comes with what happens after the war. The British military spend more of their time looking after places after a conflict, or perhaps in places trying to prevent a conflict, and that needs lots of troops on the ground.

"Those of us that argue that cuts to the Army would be very foolish are saying look where we're using our forces - they are already overstretched - cutting back the numbers would be very foolish."

Frontal assault

Tory shadow secretary of state for Scotland Peter Duncan has fired off a letter to Alistair Darling urging the Scottish Secretary to fight for Scotland's corner.

He said: "I am anxious to hear the representations you are making within the Cabinet and elsewhere on behalf of these threatened Scottish regiments to ensure their future survival."

And Mr Duncan demanded: "Scotland's national interest in this debate needs the strongest possible advocate at the heart of government."

Scottish National Party defence spokesman, Angus Robertson, said: "The Tories were never forgiven for their frontal assault on Scotland's regimental structure, and neither will Labour be if they take similar action."

And calling for a national campaign to save threatened units, he said: "The SNP is committed to fully supporting Scotland's military units and supports efforts to campaign in their defence."