Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy issued an apology for violating public appointment guidelines by failing to disclose a donation from a candidate vying for the chairmanship of the football regulator. Nandy admitted to inadvertently breaching the governance code by not revealing that David Kogan had contributed £2,900 to her leadership campaign during the 2020 leadership race.
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Nandy expressed regret for the oversight, acknowledging the potential perception issues it could raise. The Prime Minister, while acknowledging Nandy’s good intentions, criticized the lapse in the process as falling short of expected standards.
David Kogan, an expert in media rights, was nominated as the preferred candidate for chairing the Independent Football Regulator by the government in April. However, an investigation was initiated following revelations of his donations to political figures, prompting concerns about conflicts of interest.
Commissioner Sir William Shawcross found three breaches of the Governance Code in the appointment process, including Nandy’s failure to disclose Kogan’s donations and address potential conflicts during the interview. Nandy accepted the unintentional breach but was advised to have verified any financial connections with Kogan, considering his strong ties to the Labour Party.
The Commissioner recommended that the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport should have disclosed Kogan’s political contributions publicly. Nandy welcomed the acknowledgment that she was unaware of certain donations and voluntarily recused herself upon learning about them.
In response, the Prime Minister noted the unintentional nature of the error and affirmed his confidence in Nandy’s integrity. He emphasized the need to enhance procedures regarding conflicts of interest and praised Nandy’s department for its cooperation in learning from the incident. The report did not question Kogan’s suitability for the chairmanship of the Independent Football Regulator.