David Cameron declines Alex Salmond TV debate DAVID Cameron has rejected Alex Salmond's demand that the two face one another in a television debate on the future of Scotland ahead of the independence referendum. Instead the Prime Minister told Mr Salmond that he should debate with Labour former Chancellor Alistair Darling, who is head of the Better Together campaign to keep Scotland in the UK. Mr Cameron accused the SNP First Minister of trying to use the issue of a debate with him as "a diversionary tactic" and told him that he does not get to choose the opposing team's captain. The letter was a response to one sent by Mr Salmond earlier this week challenging the Prime Minister to a TV debate and comes as the Tories plan to put the defence of the Union at the heart of their conference with Scottish leader Ruth Davidson set to introduce the Prime Minister for his keynote speech on Wednesday. In his letter to Mr Salmond, Mr Cameron said: "I have already made clear - and will continue to do so - that it is not me you should be debating with head-to-head on TV, but Alistair Darling. It is time for the two campaigns and the broadcasters to meet and start working to make these debates happen. He went on: "Alistair has been asked by all of the pro-UK parties in Scotland to lead the campaign for a No vote. It is entirely right for you to place yourself at the head of the Yes campaign, but not to decide who should lead for the No campaign too. It is a well understood and reasonable principle that you get to pick your own team's captain, but not your opponent's as well. And the Prime Minister suggested that Mr Salmond was trying to make the debate a diversion over the problems the Yes campaign is in presenting its case with many polls putting support for independence at less than 30 per cent. Mr Cameron said: "It is a convenient means of deflecting attention away from the real issues - the lack of credibility of your plans for a currency union, funding pensions and managing volatile oil revenues." He added: "You want the independence debate to be an argument between you and me; the Scottish Government and UK Government; the SNP and Conservative Party - in fact anything rather than what it really is about. Nor is your argument with the rest of the United Kingdom, it is with the people in Scotland. He pointed out that the decision to break up the UK would be irreversable and said that any debate should not be reduced to the status of a "glorified general election campaign." He also said: "It is time for the two campaigns and the broadcasters to meet and start working to make these debates happen." Alistair Darling: Alex Salmond scared of TV debate