PM accused over by-election stand

The former shadow home secretary, who stunned Westminster last week by announcing he was resigning as an MP to fight a by-election over plans to extend the pre-charge detention of terrorism to 42 days, acknowledged that his decision had been criticised by political insiders.

But, in an interview with BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show, he said that his one-man campaign had caught the imagination of the public.

Labour has said that it will not decide whether to contest the election in Mr Davis's Haltemprice and Howden constituency until he has formally stood down later this week, although all the signs are that it will not put up a candidate.

Mr Davis said that the failure to put up a fight would be an act of extraordinary weakness on the part of Mr Brown.

"This is a man who bottled it on the general election, bottled it on a referendum and now he is going to bottle it even on a by-election where he could bring the full resources of his party to play against me and argue this," he said.

"I have not seen quite such an example of gutlessness in my political career. This is an issue that matters.

"All my constituents - or the massive majority of them - think this was a thing worth doing, they think this was an argument worth having, and the Prime Minister is treating them with contempt."

Mr Davis insisted that even without a Labour opponent, he would bring the campaign alive.

He said that rebel Labour MPs on the 42-day issue, such as Bob Marshall-Andrews and Ian Gibson, had promised to campaign for him as had the Iraq war veteran, Colonel Tim Collins.