[3] Barker was a researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies in 1987, before joining Gerard Vivian Gray[4] as an equity analyst in 1988, and was a member of the Honourable Artillery Company between 1989 and 1994.

Barker was at first unsuccessful in his attempts to be elected to Parliament when he contested the safe Labour seat of Eccles in Greater Manchester, where he was defeated by Ian Stewart.

[5] Wardle supported Nigel Farage (who later became the Leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party), but Barker won the safe seat securing over 10,500 votes ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate, Stephen Hardy.

In April 2011, Barker was filmed addressing an audience at the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, during which he said of the Conservative-led British government: "We are making cuts that Margaret Thatcher, back in the 1980s, could only have dreamed of.

"[6] Barker was implicated in the 2009 MPs' expenses scandal for his purchase and sale of London flats; this led to widespread outrage from tax payers.

This incident highlighted the misuse of the controversial second homes allowance, which was intended to support MPs in maintaining a secondary residence closer to Parliament, not to fund property investments.

His reported attempts to discuss government assistance for Russian oligarchs during a sensitive geopolitical period were particularly controversial and seen as a conflict with national security interests.

The interview was seen as a failure by the BBC to uphold its standards of neutrality and transparency, as Barker used the platform to advocate for positions that could benefit his associates and business interests without appropriate scrutiny.

[20] Barker was appointed as Independent Chairman of the Board of Directors of En+ Group in October 2017, a company owned by the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who sits on the U.S. sanctions list.

[26] In May 2012, Barker attracted media attention, after it was reported he had used a staff microwave at the Department of Energy and Climate Change to warm a cushion for his pet dachshund, Otto.