Arnold Robinson

Sir Arnold Robinson
First appearance	"Open Government"
Last appearance	"The National Education Service"
Portrayed by	John Nettleton
In-universe information
Title	Sir
Occupation	Cabinet Secretary

Sir Arnold Robinson is a fictional character in the 1980s British sitcom Yes Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. He was played by John Nettleton. He attended Baillie College with Sir Humphrey and shares the same views on the running of the country, the Government and the Civil Service.

In Yes Minister, Sir Arnold holds the position of Cabinet Secretary. In the last episode, "Party Games", he retires and is succeeded by Sir Humphrey Appleby, then Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Administrative Affairs. Sir Arnold tells Sir Humphrey, "By the way, Humphrey, I've decided to retire early, in the New Year.", to which Sir Humphrey replies "Have you, Arnold?", to which Sir Arnold responds "Mmm. My successor needs to be someone who can be firm with our political masters.", to which Sir Humphrey replies, "Oh, absolutely, Arnold, no nonsense with that lot!", to which Sir Arnold responds, "But tactful.", to which Sir Humphrey responds, "Tactful, yes.", to which Sir Arnold adds, "And above all, sound.", to which Sir Humphrey concurs, "Sound, yes.", to which Sir Arnold adds, "You see, in this job, the problems aren't really finding the answers, but finding the questions. We need the man who can find the key questions.". Sir Humphrey looks worried while Sir Arnold pours more sherry but then says, "By the way, Arnold, to change the subject completely, what will you be doing when you retire?", to which Sir Arnold replies, "Ah very good question, very good question. Well, let's see now; well obviously there chairmanships of BP and IBM and that sort of thing but the chairmanship of the Opera House Trust will be coming up soon," to which Sir Humphrey responds, Chairman of Covent Garden," and Sir Arnold continues, "and the Deputy Governorship of the Bank of England would be ...", "A challenge?", "a challenge, exactly; and the chairmanship of the Anglo-Caribbean Association would give one...", "A chance to be of service.", "quite. Especially during the winter months.". Sir Humphrey then says, "Well, I'm sure that any successor worth his salt would be able to arrange these, Arnold.", to which Sir Arnold Replies, "Excellent. Another thing, though: certain advice that one may have given the P.M. that might be mis-interpreted.", "What sort of advice?", to which Sir Arnold replies, "Well, advice about using troops during strikes: a perfectly sensible precaution that they should be armed, but taken out of context: machine guns...", to which Sir Humphrey replies, "Oh, I'm sure that that need never come out.", to which Sir Arnold adds, "But there is another thing: advice about re-activating a naval base: very sensible strategically, of course and a great help with the Falklands but, if one were in-line to be the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth...", to which Sir Humphrey replies, "Quite; and you would be in-line to be Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.", to which Sir Arnold replies, "Really, that's very reassuring, very reassuring. Well, I think that I and my colleagues can now see our way forwards to placing your name at the head of the list.", to which Sir Humphrey replies, "Mmmmmmmmm, Is mmmmmmmmm Themmmmmmmmmmremmmmmm anyonemmmmm..?", to which Sir Arnold replies, "Oh, I don't think there's anyone else quite up to scratch, quite honestly.". He then tells Sir Humphrey that he has accepted the post of the chairman of the Campaign for the Freedom of Information because "It's very popular with the opposition (and today's opposition is tomorrow's government) and it would mean that one could ensure that the freedom was not abused.". Later, in a restaurant, Sir Humphrey asks him "How are things at the Campaign for the Freedom of Information?", to which Sir Arnold replies, "Sorry: I can't talk about that.".

In Yes, Prime Minister, while now retired from the Civil Service, he is often sought for advice by Sir Humphrey and, on one occasion, by Jim Hacker, when he suspects Sir Humphrey of being a spy (of which he is cleared), in One of Us.