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A frustrated David Cameron was facing an unwanted and potentially embarrassing by-election last night after David Davis suddenly quit and derailed the Tory leader’s smooth run of success.

The party leadership was in a state of shock after Mr Davis dropped the bombshell that he was resigning from Parliament and planning to fight to return as MP for Haltemprice & Howden on a civil liberties platform opposing the 42-day detention power.

Mr Davis, 59, gambled his career, and his party’s short-term fortunes, by saying that he intended to “take a stand” against the Government’s “slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms”.

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The move, announced out of the blue after Gordon Brown’s monthly press conference, provoked Labour glee and instantly took pressure off the Prime Minister, under attack for forcing through his 42-day legislation with the help of the Democratic Unionists and by fierce arm-twisting of his MPs.

Westminster was stunned by Mr Davis’s decision, with MPs asking whether he had “flipped” and some of his Conservative colleagues accusing him of embarking on an ego trip.

He only informed Mr Cameron after Wednesday’s division on the 42-day power, which Mr Brown won by just nine votes. He presented it as a fait accompli and rebuffed Mr Cameron’s attempts to change his mind.

Mr Cameron moved swiftly to limit the damage by appointing Dominic Grieve, who takes a similarly strong line on 42 days, as Shadow Home Secretary and making clear that it was not a temporary appointment. Mr Davis knows that he will not walk straight back into his old job.

But in an interview with The Times last night Mr Davis rejected suggestions that he was behaving selfishly. He accepted that his decision was a risk and declared: “It is a funny old ego trip if I end up without a job.”

Mr Davis took the precaution of receiving a pledge from Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, that his party would not put up a candidate against him. The Liberal Democrats are also opposed to the 42-day power, and the contest will not stray beyond civil liberties arguments.

Labour will not put up a candidate but has delayed its announcement until he resigns formally next week. A source said: “We don’t want to give him any excuse for pulling out now.”

The chances are that Mr Davis will be opposed by a prominent independent candidate backing the 42-day power, which polls have suggested has the support of the British public.

If Mr Davis’s constituents decide to punish him for provoking an unnecessary by-election, the result could be closer than the immediate predictions suggested.

Mr Davis admitted that Mr Cameron had warned him that resigning was very risky but said that he intended to test the polls to destruction. He added: “I want the press and public to focus on these policies over a longer period. These areas of principle are more important to me than the job.”

He denied that he and Mr Cameron had had a row over the 42-day policy or over the way in which it should be handled in the Lords: “Absolutely not. There has been no disagreement. David has been bloody brilliant. He gave me a completely free hand to run tactics and strategy.”

Even so, when it was put to Mr Davis that he was keener on opposing the 42-day policy than other members of the Shadow Cabinet, he replied: “That is certainly true.”

As The Times reported yesterday, George Osborne and Michael Gove were among those in the Shadow Cabinet who had reservations about opposing 42 days.

Mr Davis began thinking of making a stand in the past week and the option became a firm decision when he saw the way in which Mr Brown secured his victory by using the Unionists and a series of “grubby deals”.

He told The Times: “Last weekend I really thought we were going to win. I thought there would be over 50 Labour rebels. But when I saw the shenanigans last night the iron entered my soul. I do not think the Archangel Gabriel could have talked me out of it at that stage.”

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said that the Tories were in disarray. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, said that Mr Davis’s behaviour was odd.

The Conservative Party will not fund Mr Davis’s by-election campaign centrally. Mr Cameron wished him well and said he would support him.

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