 He later served as Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors.In his later years, Armitage chaired a series of government committees under James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher, including the Social Security Advisory Committee; the Armitage Committee, set up to review the rules governing the political activities of civil servants; and an independent inquiry into lorries and their effect on people and the environment.Armitage was President of Cambridge University Cricket Club between 1965 and 1970.