Initially working for the
Cambridge Evening News, Burnham joined
The Daily Telegraph prior to its 1986 takeover by
Conrad Black and held the positions of general manager and deputy managing director in the 1970s and 80s. He inherited the barony and a seat in the
House of Lords upon the death of his elder brother
William Lawson, 5th Baron Burnham in 1993. He had a career in the House of Lords as a
Conservative defence spokesman and
junior whip. He was one of the
90 hereditary peers selected to remain in the Lords after the passing of the
House of Lords Act 1999. ==Marriage and children==