[3] In February 1997, Hugo Gurdon published an interview in The Daily Telegraph with Pearson, discussing his metaphysical and political beliefs and motivations.

Pearson criticised the Conservative Party's leadership for being "silly", and argued that they should try to get UKIP members back into the fold by adopting more eurosceptic policies themselves.

In November 2006, he tabled the European Union (Implications of Withdrawal) Bill, which called for an official cost benefit analysis of UK's EU membership.

[15] He threatened to quit the Conservatives to join UKIP, which he did on 7 January 2007, along with Lord Willoughby de Broke,[16] citing David Cameron's refusal to tell the British people about the disadvantages they suffer because of Britain's membership of the EU.

He led the party through the 2010 general election, appearing on BBC News' Campaign Show with Jon Sopel on 19 April 2010.

[1] Shortly after Pearson's election as UKIP leader in 2009, the Daily Telegraph reported that he had claimed more than £115,000 in Parliamentary expenses between 2001 and 2007, having designated his estate in Scotland as his main residence, although his £3.7m house in London was designated as his principal residence for tax purposes, and he was thus not liable for £275,000 in capital gains tax when he sold his London house in 2006.

He said Sharia law was "running de facto in our land" and that calls for violence were not simply coming from a "few extremists", stating: "These people hate us with frightening religious fervour and we are right to fear them."

"[28] In 2014, Pearson suggested that the Quran had inspired the murder of Lee Rigby, referring to "the violence in the Qur'an – and indeed in the life and the example of Muhammad".

[34] Pearson has been married three times, first to Francesca Frua de Angeli in 1965, with whom he had one daughter, Silvia Lady Le Marchant (born 1966) and whom he divorced in 1970.