Raised and educated in Birmingham, Rooker worked as a production engineer in the city before lecturing in the subject at Lanchester Polytechnic.

Rooker did not seek re-election as an MP at the 2001 general election and was immediately created a life peer where he continued to serve in the government under several ministerial portfolios until 2008, including as Deputy Leader of the House of Lords and Minister of State for Sustainable Food, Farming and Animal Health from 2005 to 2008.

He initially trained as a production engineer, working in various factories in and around Birmingham for 14 years and then became a lecturer on the subject at Lanchester Polytechnic.

Rooker was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate in October 1971 for his home constituency of Birmingham Perry Barr, which he won in the February 1974 general election.

[3] After Tony Blair led Labour to power in the 1997 general election, Rooker served as Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

[4] As a member of the House of Lords, he was re-appointed to the government as the Minister of State for Asylum and Immigration and remained in the post for a year.

He was a controversial choice as minister responsible for animal welfare due to his well-known pro-hunting views.

He retained both these roles when Gordon Brown became Labour leader and Prime Minister in 2007 and showed himself to be outspokenly in favour of genetically modified (GM) foods at the September 2008 Labour Party Conference, when he accused people opposed to GM foods of "ignorance".