CONSERVATIVE ministers have performed a U-turn on plans to stop opposition parties laying their own wreaths at the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph.
The proposed change followed fears over the amount of time the Queen and ageing veterans have to stand.
But they provoked a political row as they appeared to give an enhanced role to Prime Minister David Cameron, who would have continued to lay his own wreath separately.
Within hours of the details emerging the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which oversees the ceremony, said it was reverting to the traditional arrangement.
A spokesman said: "After discussions, it has been decided the way the leaders of the main political parties lay their wreaths will remain the same as last year."
The department said that the amount of time waiting in the cold could be reduced in other ways, including by keeping the service itself slightly shorter.
The Queen herself is 89 while many of the veterans who attend the annual event are even older.
Under the plans, opposition party leaders would have laid their wreaths together rather than individually.
Before the change of heart, SNP leader Alex Salmond warned: "The Remembrance Day service has been supported on an all-party basis since just after the First World War, I would advise the Government and everyone else connected that it is not in anyone's interest to tamper with it.
"It is the ceremony with the utmost solemnity and dignity. People thinking about this should also remember it is about service personnel and the families of the fallen, and keep that uppermost in mind."
SNP sources also said that the party considered the issue to be “incredibly important”.
However, a Downing Street spokesman said that he was not aware of any opposition parties raising concerns about their leaders' proposed involvement.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "Consideration was given to whether the service format might allow the march-past of veterans to start earlier.
"A number of veterans wait some time for the parade to move off, and then have a lengthy march to Horse Guards Parade."
A spokesman for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Jeremy believes the most important thing on Remembrance Sunday is remembering those servicemen and women who have given their lives for Britain and he will pay his full respects, in line with the arrangements."
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