[6] In 1997 The Independent noted the historical coincidence that the general election candidate for the Referendum Party, Roger Percival, claimed to be a descendant of the slain Prime Minister.

[7] Bellingham first entered Parliament at the 1983 election after winning the seat for North West Norfolk, having defeated the incumbent MP Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler, who in 1981 was the only Conservative to defect to the newly formed SDP.

[citation needed] Bellingham was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Trade and Industry in July 2002, before becoming an Opposition Whip in May 2005.

He won the North West Norfolk seat in the 2010 election, and was appointed a Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the coalition government within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office covering; 'Overseas Territories, Africa, United Nations, economic issues, conflict resolution and climate change'.

[citation needed] In 2009, whilst debating the Queen's speech, he was described as "looking uncomfortable" when MPs joked about his distant ancestor John Bellingham, who assassinated Spencer Perceval.

[10] While in Antigua, Bellingham had commented on the surprise decision of former Premier of Bermuda Ewart Brown to provide asylum to four former Uyghur captives in Guantanamo.

[13] In 2014, a mining company called Pathfinder Minerals appointed Bellingham as non-executive chairman 18 months after he stopped being Minister for Africa.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the case raised concerns 'of a revolving door between Whitehall and the private sector, with ministers benefiting from contacts they made in office'.

[19] Bellingham was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for political and parliamentary service by Prime Minister David Cameron.