On 1 October 2007, it was announced by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown that Beddington would succeed Professor Sir David King as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government with effect from 1 January 2008. His annual remuneration for this role was £165,000. Beddington was closely involved in helping the British government formulate its response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the eruptions of Icelandic volcanoes and ash dieback disease in the UK. In April 2013 Beddington was succeeded by Mark Walport.