Davis: I won't take on Howard

David Davis will not challenge Michael Howard for the Tory leadership - even if the party suffers a huge defeat at the polls.

The shadow home secretary made clear he would only stand for the top job if Mr Howard decided to step aside.

Mr Davis, the bookies' favourite as next leader, spoke out amid speculation about pressure for a change at the top if the party makes little progress on 5 May.

But during a break from campaigning in his marginal seat of Haltemprice and Howden, he insisted: "We are playing to win this game, not to do an autopsy before the game is over."

So if there is no vacancy, he will not consider standing? "Yes, that's exactly right," he told the Standard. "And I don't expect that [a vacancy] to arise."

Mr Davis ducked the issue of whether the party's ?4 billion tax relief package is too small to tempt voters. "That's a question for Oliver [Letwin], not me," he said.

As a mountaineer, he said: "You climb one pitch at a time ... getting up this pitch successfully means winning this election." He added: "I only play for victory."