A long career marked by an Iraq tour in 2003, two years at DFID with little to show for it, and a defining Covid era turn that had him on camera advising Save Our Rights UK to "persist" with the campaign against lockdown and vaccine passports.

Born 1956; schoolmastering at Charterhouse and Wrekin College in the 1980s, then a decade at the Royal Bank of Scotland as a computer systems manager. Commissioned in the Territorial Army Royal Armoured Corps in 1987 and rose to major. Elected for New Forest West in 1997 on an 11,332 majority and never out of the seat since: the 2019 majority of 24,403 fell to 5,600 in July 2024 as Labour, the Lib Dems and Reform divided the opposition vote between them. Deployed to Iraq with the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry from July to December 2003 while a sitting MP, recording an audio diary from theatre for BBC Radio 4. Holds the Iraq Medal and Territorial Decoration. A rare backbench claim to physical risk taken in office.

PPS to David Cameron from 2004 to September 2012, the gatekeeper role in opposition and the inner circle Number 10 fixture in government, sitting in on the 8.30 study meeting daily. Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 2012 to 2013, Vice Chamberlain of the Household from 2013 to 2014, then Minister of State for International Development under Justine Greening and Priti Patel from July 2014 to July 2016. The DFID record is thin. He held the Asia, Caribbean and Middle East brief, was around for the 0.7% Act and the Nepal earthquake response, and produced no signature programme of his own. Knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for "political and parliamentary service" rather than any DFID achievement. Privy Counsellor since 2011.

The Covid era is the defining recent chapter. He recorded a video interview with the vaccine sceptic campaign Save Our Rights UK in November 2020 in which he said the published Covid figures were "manageable" and "have been manipulated", that intensive care units were "operating at typical occupation levels for the time of year", and urged the campaign to "persist". When Sky News surfaced the recording in late January 2021, Michael Gove called it "completely out of order" and Angela Rayner demanded the whip be withdrawn. Conservative HQ refused but ordered him to attend briefings with scientific advisers. He refused to apologise. A separate interview with the US broadcaster Del Bigtree had him calling the UK "a police state". TheyWorkForYou records him voting against public health restrictions in 19 of 22 relevant divisions.

The Blues Brothers party photograph of him in blackface as James Brown surfaced in October 2019 after he wrote a blog post titled "Trudeau''s Turban" defending Justin Trudeau''s own blackface incident as "an entirely acceptable bit of fun". A June 2020 email to a constituent on the George Floyd protests read "Arsonists and looters have it coming." In February 2021, in a separate blog post, he repudiated his pre 2007 voting record on gay rights, on the equal age of consent and Section 28, calling those views "antediluvian prejudices" and "intellectual laziness". The repudiation was unprompted and on his own terms.

Voted Aye on the Rwanda Bill at every stage and No on the Leadbeater assisted dying bill at second reading. Drew first place in the May 2026 Private Members'' Bill ballot. The arc is from Cameron loyalist to lockdown rebel willing to share a platform with the most vocal vaccine sceptics in the country, and his Iraq tour remains the strongest counterweight on the credit side.