 He became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministers of State at the Foreign Office.In January 1966, Rowland travelled with two other Labour MPs (Jeremy Bray and David Ennals) to Rhodesia (which had just declared independence from the United Kingdom; albeit unofficially recognised) to see what conditions there were like, and meet some of those involved.Supporters of Ian Smith asked to meet them and so the three men agreed a time when they would talk; unexpectedly, more than 400 turned up and a rowdy meeting ensued.