David Davis exits, will 'fight' again
Updated on 12 June 2008
Shadow home secretary David Davis resigns as an MP and prepares to fight a by-election on anti-detention ticket.
Tory shadow home secretary David Davis has resigned from parliament to fight a by-election over government's anti-terror laws.
The controversial move by the Haltemprice and Howden MP is sure to spark conflict with his party's leader David Cameron.
The 59-year-old said he wanted to fight the constituency campaign to combat government's "insidious, surreptitious and relentless erosion of British freedoms".
His announcement comes hours after parliament narrowly voted in favour of laws which allow terror suspects to be held for up to 42 days without charge.
In a statement he said: "This erosion can't go on, it must be stopped. For that reason I feel it's incumbent on me to take a stand. I will be resigning my membership of the house and will fight a by-election."
Davis said anti-terror laws, the DNA database, and widespread CCTV cameras were examples of the loss of British civil liberties.
He added: "If I do get voted back into parliament it will be with the simple message that the law which was voted in yesterday is not acceptable, and voters will not stand for it."
Davis won his parliamentary seat by more than 5,000 votes in 2005, with the Liberal Democrat candidate in second place.
It is understood a deal has already been done by Davis with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg for them not to stand at the by-election, although it has not been confirmed.
Davis has been a long time opponent of the government plans to extend detention without charge and was widely lauded for his forensice arguments in yesterday's Commons debate.
