Ruth Davidson yesterday squared up to David Cameron over Europe, saying that she would campaign to stay in the EU regardless of the position he took.

In a typically assertive intervention, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives said that if she ended up “in conflict with the prime minister then so be it”.

She said: “I am the leader of my party in Scotland. I don’t take lines from anyone, and anyone who has known me over the last four years will attest to that front. For me, on balance, I think Scotland gets more out of being part of the European Union than it would do if it was taken away from it.

“I think there are lots of things wrong with the European