Frederick Edward Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell (born 3 January 1938) is a retired
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
, now sitting in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
as a
crossbencher
A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...
.
Early life and family
Butler was born in
Lytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 United Kingdom census, ...
, Lancashire, on 3 January 1938. He went to
Orley Farm School and
Harrow School
Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...
(where he was Head Boy), then taught for a year at St Dunstan's School,
Burnham-on-Sea, before attending
University College, Oxford
University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...
, where he took a double
first in
Mods and Greats and twice gained a
Rugby Blue. He married Gillian Lois Galley in 1962. They have two daughters and a son.
[ BBC News]
Profile: Lord Butler of Brockwell
Civil service career
Butler had a high-profile career in the civil service from 1961 to 1998, serving as
Private Secretary to five
Prime Ministers
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...
. He was
Secretary of the Cabinet and
Head of the Home Civil Service
In the United Kingdom, the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or Secretariat (administrative office), secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, which is led ...
from 1988 to 1998.
[''Salt Talk'' issue 9 (2011) p6 "The Master"]
Butler joined
HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...
in 1961, becoming Private Secretary to the
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...
1964–66 and Secretary to the Budget Committee 1965–69.
[
Early in his career, he was occasionally confused with his namesake ]Rab Butler
Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politici ...
. Memos for Rab Butler, some highly sensitive, ended up on his desk, and some of his ended up on Rab's. It was agreed that all memos ambiguously addressed to "R Butler" should go to Rab's office first, and then Rab's office would send on any intended for the other R Butler. It is said that one day the young Butler, who was still playing first class rugby, received a letter that read: "You have been selected for the Richmond 1st XV on Saturday. Please be at Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
by 2 p.m.". Underneath, in Rab's distinctive handwriting, was the message: "Dear Robin, I am not free on Saturday. Please could you deputise for me? Rab"![D. R. Thorpe (2011) "Supermac – the Life of Harold MacMillan" Random House, , page 751]
In 1969, he was seconded to the Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
and several City
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
institutions. Later at HM Treasury as Assistant Secretary, General Expenditure Intelligence Division, he led the team which installed the UK Government's computerised financial information system 1975–77. He had been a founder member of the Central Policy Review Staff under Lord Rothschild 1971–2. After several senior appointments at the Treasury, he became second Permanent Secretary, Public Expenditure, 1985–87.
Butler was Private Secretary to Prime Ministers Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...
(1972–74) and Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
(1974–75), and Principal Private Secretary to Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
(1982–85).[ Along with Thatcher, he was almost killed in the 1984 IRA bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton.][ He was also ]Cabinet Secretary
A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...
during the premierships of Margaret Thatcher, John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
and Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
.[
]
Other activities
After retiring from the Civil Service, Butler was Master of University College, Oxford
University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...
, 1998–2008.[ He was made a ]life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
in the 1998 New Year Honours and was raised to the peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks.
Peerages include:
A ...
as Baron Butler of Brockwell, of Herne Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...
.
He was a non-executive Director of HSBC Group from 1998 to 2008. He was also Chairman of the Corporate Sustainability Committee and the HSBC Global Education Trust. In 2011 he was elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Salters.[ He is a Trustee of the ]Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
.
In 2004, Lord Butler of Brockwell chaired the Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction, widely known as the 'Butler Review', which reviewed the use of intelligence in the lead up to the 2003 Iraq War. The report concluded that some of the intelligence about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...
was seriously flawed. The report also concluded, with regards to the so-called Niger uranium forgeries, that the report Saddam's government was seeking uranium in Africa appeared 'well-founded'.
Lord Butler of Brockwell in 2025 warned that the UK is moving towards a US-style system, in which new governments replace senior civil servants with political appointees. He said: "It seems to me that, overall, a clear pattern is emerging. We have moved to the American pattern of replacing senior civil servants with political appointees when the party of government changes. As one of my former colleagues said to me, civil servants in the centre of government have become an endangered species."
Honours and arms
Honours
*Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...
(CVO), 1986 New Year Honours
*Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
(KCB), 1988 New Year Honours
*Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
(GCB), 1992 Birthday Honours
*Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
age, 12 February 1998[
*Knight Companion of the ]Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
(KG), 23 April 2003
*Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...
(PC), 2004
Arms
References
External links
Oxford University Gazette announcement of election as Master
Debrett's People of Today
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler of Brockwell, Robin Butler, Baron
1938 births
Living people
People educated at Harrow School
Alumni of University College, Oxford
Second Permanent Secretaries of HM Treasury
Cabinet Secretaries (United Kingdom)
Private secretaries in the British Civil Service
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Crossbench life peers
Masters of University College, Oxford
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
Knights of the Garter
HSBC people
Principal private secretaries to the prime minister
Fellows of King's College London
Life peers created by Elizabeth II