 Although never promoted to ministerial office, Mitchell was a high-profile backbench M.P., in demand by society and the media.He was a popular member of the Garrick Club, and was reported to enjoy a “gregarious social life” in London.In 1973 he was approached by a consortium that was planning to establish a large sporting and agricultural estate in Scotland, which invited him to take a stake in the project and become the project's General-Manager with a generous salary.