Brotherton demanded that the Royal Navy escort the British fishing fleet to defend it from Icelandic attacks during the Cod War. Early in January 1976 he challenged James Callaghan, then Foreign Secretary, to substantiate Sheila Cassidy's claim that she had been tortured in Chile before making any protest to the Chilean government. In March 1976 he pressed the issue of a member of the House of Commons catering staff who had been found to be a supporter of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, calling for stricter vetting.