Lord Freeman was made a life peer in 1997. He has sat on the House of Lords Science and Technology Sub Committee, the Committee on Speakership and the Committee on European Union (Defence, Foreign Affairs and International Development). He also chairs the Select Committee on the European Union Internal Market.
Lord Freeman's current business interests include Chairmanships of Thales UK plc, the Security Innovation and Technology Consortium (SITC), the UK Advisory Panel at PricewaterhouseCoopers, London, Metalysis (a Cambridge University spin-out), CrossCore Optimisation (an Imperial College, London spin-out), Cambridge Enterprise Ltd (The Technology Transfer Office). He is also a Director of Thales SA France.
Previously, Lord Freeman was a Partner and Managing Director of Lehman Brothers in London and New York between 1969 and 1986.
From 1983 until 1997 he was the Member of the UK Parliament for Kettering, Northamptonshire during which time he held a number of senior ministerial appointments including - Minister of State for Public Transport, Minister of State for Defence Procurement, Cabinet Minister for Public Service and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.