Also known as "Hot Bottle Bill" by his civil servants, is a British Cabinet Minister who works as a Secretary of State of the Department of the Environment. It is implied that he and his civil servants were responsible for having A.R.S.E. set up in Lawson Park. When Rowf and Snitter begin killing sheep, the farmers realize that the dogs were from the lab and figure that if the media can discredit the lab, they can embarrass the Secretary of State. After Snitter accidentally kills Ephraim, the government department sends Digby Driver to investigate, but he blackmails Dr. Goodner to have him publish a headline about the dogs carrying the plague. Harbottle and his civil servants try to address the situation to the public and have sent the military of the 3rd Battalion Parachute to hunt down the dogs. When the dogs were rescued and reunited with Alan Wood, Harbottle and his senior civil servant, the Under Secretary, arrive to have the dogs shot, but the warden of the Drigg Nature reserve forces him to leave, telling him that he has no right to be there and that it's illegal to bring guns into the nature reserve.