Lord Erroll (Merlin) plays an active role in thought leadership in the ICT arena, especially around Information Assurance and Security. He worked for many years in software development, as well as spending 22 years in the Territorial Army.He sits as an Independent Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords, where he takes a particular interest in ICT, Countryside & the Environment, the Constitution and Scottish matters.

He is active in several Parliamentary ICT groups, especially those looking at regulatory issues affecting use of the Internet, Information Assurance and Identity, linking this with a Local Authority perspective through his work on the board of LASSeO (The Local Authority Smartmedia Standards e-Organisation). He sits on the council of PITCOM (Parliamentary Information Technology Committee), Chairs EURIM (Information Society Alliance), is Secretary of apComms (All-Party Communications Group), and Vice-Chair of the All-Party Group on Entrepreneurship.

He sits on several Advisory Boards and Bodies and was inducted into the Infosecurity Europe Hall of Fame in 2010.