 Nonetheless, he was now under suspicion as one who consistently favoured the interests of the Old English, and was blamed for failing to apprehend the rebels in Wicklow during the rebellion.However, he continued to demonstrate his valuable insights to Burghley in regular correspondence throughout the period, including letters sent in December 1581 on the miseries of war, the need for temperate government, and his fear that the wild Irish were glad to see the weakness of English blood in Ireland.His usefulness as an Irish speaker and a nominal Protestant made him an essential privy councillor for two decades.