I qualified as a veterinary surgeon in Edinburgh in 1985, returning to do a PhD at the Moredun Research Institute on animal welfare related issues in 1988. The Churchill Fellowship allowed me to explore aspects of animal husbandry in New Zealand and Australia, in parallel with the completion of my PhD in 1991.

With changes to research funding at that time, I returned to veterinary practice, becoming a partner and then sole owner of a busy mixed practice in Cheshire. This, along with work as an official veterinary surgeon and as a clinical trial manager with a pharmaceutical company, was an important stepping-stone to the European Commission. I joined the Food and Veterinary Office, a highly visible outcome of the collapse of public confidence in government (and the Commission) post-BSE.

To remain motivated, I changed subject matter every four to five years, initially dealing with public and animal health in cattle, sheep and pigs, and I ended up as a head of sector dealing with fishery products of wild and aquaculture origin, originating either in Europe or from one of our 100 or more trade partners.