By Martin Banks - 26th November 2009
Pearson is a serious, credible candidate
Nigel Farage
Three MEPs are among five candidates standing for leadership of the UK Independence Party.
Gerard Batten, Mike Natrass and Nikki Sinclaire are to go head-to-head in the contest to replace Nigel Farage as party leader.
They are joined by Lord Malcolm Pearson, who defected from the Tories in 2007, and Alan Wood, a local councillor.
Farage, who will remain as leader of the party's MEPs, has backed Pearson, describing him as a "serious, credible" contender.
Natrass is a former UKIP chairman while Batten has been an MEP since 2004.
He is said to have reacted with fury at Farage's comments about Pearson, saying it was an "insult" to the other candidates.
Sinclair has held many posts in the party and has twice stood as a general election candidate.
Wood is the least well-known of the five but holds a crucial role, as the party's nominating officer.
The party is currently battling in the courts over a donation from a former bookmaker who was not on the electoral register at the time he gave the money.
Thirteen MEPs were elected in June's European elections with a share of the popular vote that pushed Labour into third place in the UK.
The result of the vote of the party's membership will be announced on Friday.
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