CAMBRIDGE University has barred Scottish students from wearing kilts at degree ceremonies as part of a ban on national costumes.

The ban has been introduced because the university says it wants all students to dress as equals. Even members of the armed forces will be prevented from wearing their uniforms.

Although the regulations apply to kilts, there will be an exemption for religious dress such as Islamic veils.

The ban brought criticism from politicians north of the border yesterday. Jim Wallace, the Scottish executive’s deputy first minister — and a Cambridge graduate — made his opinion clear.

“Instead of clamping down, they should be more flexible,” he said. “You must be able to combine the best of the traditional, such as gowns and hoods, with something that allows you, if you want to, to wear your national dress. As long as it is still dignified, then this should be allowed.”

Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish National party’s shadow justice and home affairs minister, said the ban was “petty and very narrow-minded”. Bill Aitken, the Conservative MSP for Glasgow, said it was “total and utter nonsense”.

A spokesman for the university defended the decision on the grounds that graduation regulations had always emphasised that traditional dress should be worn, but that they had not been enforced until now. By traditional dress, the regulations mean trousers and ties for men and skirt-suits for women.

“The praelectors (graduation regulations officials) found that just recently the breaches of their regulations have been more prolific and more extreme. They asked if they could allow them to be enforced,” said the spokesman.

He added: “The underlying reason for the graduation ceremony is that you become a member of Cambridge University regardless of whether you are a Scottish, a New Zealand or an army one.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Tartan Authority, which promotes traditional dress, said: “While we do not know the dress code of the colleges concerned, we would be very disappointed to see a ban on tartan.”

A fourth-year male student, who did not want to be named, said: “I’m proud of my Scottish identity and I think this is unfair on Scottish students.”

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