He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Duncan Sandys from 1959 to 1963, and continued to work for J Walter Thompson. He took leave of absence from his advertising job from October 1963 until the October 1964 general election, to serve as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, with responsibility for Africa and Commonwealth education, his only position in the government. He also served on the General Advisory Council of the BBC from 1969 to 1974, and was a member of the Committee of Enquiry into Intrusions into Privacy from 1970 to 1972, and was a member of the British Council and the Institute of Race Relations.