fɹʌm nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi fˈaɪv tə θˈɜːɾi wˈʌn dʒuːlˈaɪ nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti tˈuː, wˌɛn hiː wʌz mˌeɪd ɹᵻdˈʌndənt, hiː wʌzɐ kwˈɔlᵻɾi ˈɔːdɪt mˈænɪdʒɚɹ æt ðə hˈɜːst ɹᵻsˈɜːtʃ sˈɛntɚ, wˈɛmbli, ðə sˈɛntɹəl ɹᵻsˈɜːtʃ lˈæbɹətˌɔːɹi ʌv dʒˈɛnɚɹəl ᵻlˈɛktɹɪk kˈʌmpəni pˌiːˌɛlsˈiː dʒˌiːˌiːsˈiː, wˌɪtʃ ˌʌndɚtˈʊk ɐ wˈaɪd ɹˈeɪndʒ ʌv mˈɪnɪstɹi ʌv dᵻfˈɛns mˈoʊ dˈiː ænd kəmˈɜːʃəl pɹˈɑːdʒɛkts.
From 1985 to 31 July 1992, when he was made redundant, he was a quality audit manager at the Hirst Research Centre, Wembley, the central research laboratory of General Electric Company plc (GEC), which undertook a wide range of Ministry of Defence (MoD) and commercial projects.