 Luttrell, described as "strong in body, if not in mind", achieved a reputation for bravery as a soldier during the Seven Years' War, becoming Deputy Adjutant-General of the British Forces in Portugal.In 1768 he became a Tory Member of Parliament in for the village of Bossiney, Cornwall.With the support of the Grafton ministry and of the Court, in 1769 Luttrell stood in Middlesex against John Wilkes, the radical and popular figure who had already been the constituency's three-time democratic choice.