Shadow Home Secretary David Davis has announced he is to stand down as an MP to force a by-election in his constituency and that he will contest the seat.
He said his resignation is intended to highlight his opposition to the detention of terror suspects for 42 days without charge. His resignation will trigger a by-election in Howden and Haltemprice which he will fight on the grounds that he is against government's increasing intrusion into the public's lives.
In a resignation statement he read at 1.10pm today, Mr Davis said that the Labour Government was eroding human freedom and creating a database state.
Mr Davis said: "I will argue in this by-election against the slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms by this Government."
The MP is widely seen as one of the shadow cabinet's most effective operators, and came runner up to David Cameron for the party leadership in 2005.
Mr Davis has seen off a succession of Labour home secretaries but rumours about a poor relationship with Witney MP Mr Cameron persisted.
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