Davis by-election move 'a stunt'

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The Tory MP's bid to force a debate with the Government over 42-day pre-charge detention appeared doomed to failure as Gordon Brown mocked his actions as "farcical".

Hinting that Labour would not put up a candidate in the by-election Mr Davis wants to fight on the single issue of civil liberties, the Prime Minister dismissed the move as a "stunt".

The former shadow home secretary's toughest opposition is likely to come from Kelvin MacKenzie, the former editor of The Sun, which has steadfastly supported the Government over 42 days.

With the Tory leadership furious over Mr Davis's unilateral manoeuvring, David Cameron made no allusion to the issue in a speech on Friday.

Many of Mr Davis's colleagues are baffled by the decision to force a by-election for his own seat - which could cost up to £100,000 - describing it privately as "mad".

The Prime Minister said: "I think everyone now recognises that this is a stunt that has become a farce and has revealed the deep divisions of the party."

The Liberal Democrats are supporting Mr Davis's "principled" stand, meaning that he could face no opposition from a major party.

But the Tory MP accused Mr Brown of running scared of debate over civil liberties and insisted the Government would be displaying "contempt" for the public if it refused to participate.

The 59-year-old also denied he was on an "ego trip" or suffering from some form of mid-life crisis, and hit out at the Government's "shabby" use of bribes and bullying to secure its narrow Commons victory over extending pre-charge detention.