Under-pressure MP splits from wife

Dudley South MP Ian Pearson, economic secretary to the Treasury, and his wife Annette are in the process of getting divorced. The couple have three children but Mr Pearson has moved out of their home in Norton, Stourbridge, to a rented flat in Stourbridge town centre.

Mr Pearson said he and his wife had "grown apart" because of the long stretches he spent away from the family on ministerial duties. "Since I have been a minister, I have been spending four or five nights a week in London," he said.

"The pressure of working in London for such long periods put an enormous strain on my marriage, and Annette and I agreed to part last September. The decree nisi came through a couple of weeks ago.

"Sadly, we have grown apart because of the time I have been spending away on parliamentary and government business in London and Northern Ireland when I was a minister there.

"I have been visiting the children regularly, and I would appreciate it if the privacy of Annette and our children is observed. The break-up of our marriage has been amicable, and there are no others involved."

Mrs Pearson, speaking at the family home, said the split had been "very amicable" with "no animosity" and confirmed that she was still in regular contact with her husband. Mr Pearson has been a minister since May 2005 when he was appointed minister for trade at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Prior to taking on his role at the Treasury in October last year, he was minister for science and innovation in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills for 16 months.

Before his ministerial career, Mr Pearson worked on the Treasury and Education and Employment Select committees and was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Paymaster General.

He was elected MP for Dudley West, which later became Dudley South, in the early days of Tony Blair's leadership in 1994. It was Labour's first by-election victory of the Blair years.