His father was a Minister in a chapel in Llansadwrn, Anglesey, and they lived in the schoolhouse.

He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Conwy (formerly Conway) from 1970 until his retirement in 1997.

On the 1979 Conservative election victory, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Welsh Office.

Following the 1987 election, he was promoted to Minister of State at the Welsh Office, a post he held until 1994.

[2][3] Following his retirement from the House of Commons, he was elevated as a life peer on 1 October 1997 with the title of Baron Roberts of Conwy, of Talyfan in the County of Gwynedd.