Will England follow Scotland in raising age for buying alcohol?

The move is being watched carefully by Whitehall. Similar innovations north of the border - including banning smoking in pubs and restaurants - have been copied in England and Wales.

There is growing concern about discount sales in supermarkets which encourage youngsters to get drunk on cheap booze before going out to pubs and clubs.

The minimum age for buying alcohol in shops or off-licences in Scotland is set to be raised to 21 (file picture)

But critics claim the proposed law change in Scotland will lead to widespread confusion because 18-year-olds will be free to drink as much as they want in pubs and bars but banned from buying wine or beer in a supermarket.

The move follows a pilot project in which three Scottish towns banned all off-licence sale of alcohol to under-21s.

The change is expected to be rolled out across Scotland as part of an alcohol action plan, which could also include minimum prices for alcohol and a crackdown on discount offers.

Scottish Retail Consortium director Fiona Moriarty claimed the Scottish Government risked 'demonising alcohol for young people', and called for greater efforts to help them understand 'the pleasure in enjoying alcohol-responsibly and also the dangers of excess consumption'.

She said: 'This mixed message, that it is OK to drink in pubs and clubs, but not OK to buy something to drink responsibly in your own home, is extremely confusing.'

However Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association which represents pubs and clubs, claimed that supermarkets only had themselves to blame because while the pub and bar trade had worked hard to stamp out irresponsible drink promotions, supermarkets had failed to do the same.

In London, a spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: 'We are interested in looking at evidence from other countries but have no plans to change the age at which adults can purchase alcohol.'

Last month MPs in Westminster hit out at major supermarkets for their 'immoral' policy of selling alcohol below cost price.

And the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, Stephen Otter, told the Home Affairs Select Committee that alcohol is 'as readily available as a glass of Coca-Cola'.