Scottish independence: PM dismisses Salmond debate PRIME Minister David Cameron has once again dismissed calls for a televised debate with First Minister Alex Salmond ahead of the referendum on Scottish independence next September. Speaking on BBC1"s Andrew Marr Show, Cameron accused Salmond of dodging direct questions on his independence plans. Cameron said: "Alex Salmond wants the question to be about anything other than the question. So he would like the debate to be the SNP versus the Tory Party, or Scotland versus England. It's not - it's a debate between Scots. What it should be is between Alistair Darling, leader of the No campaign, and Alex Salmond, leader of the Yes campaign. Let them debate. But he wants to change the question. He's a canny guy but I saw that one coming. Cameron did give his support for televised debates ahead of the 2015 UK general election, but called for the debates to be moved forward in the calendar. The Prime Minister said: "I want the debates to take place. They were good in the last election. I thought they took up too much of the campaign, so I think we could start them a bit earlier.