In 1987 he entered business and ran a company of international maritime arbitrators for 10 years before entering parliament as MP for Brent North in 1997.
Barry was a City Councillor in Cambridge where he chaired the Finance Committee and became the youngest mayor in the City's 800 year history. In Parliament, he has served on the Public Accounts Select Committee, and on the Broadcasting and Procedure Select Committees. He stood on the Finance Standing Committee that scrutinised the budget for 3 years in a row. He has chaired the All Party Group on Sports and Leisure and the All Party Group on Commonhold and Leasehold Reform. He founded and chaired Labour Friends of India and is a regular contributor to the Gujarati and Asian press.
Barry was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from April 2004 to May 2005. In May 2005 he became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Competitiveness at the Department for Trade and Industry.
Barry and his wife, Caroline, have three sons and a daughter.
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editor