Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has issued an apology for breaching the public appointments code by failing to disclose that a candidate for chairing the football regulator had contributed to her leadership campaign.
Nandy acknowledged that she inadvertently violated the governance code on public appointments when selecting David Kogan as the head of the Independent Football Regulator without revealing his donation to her leadership bid. In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, she expressed regret for the oversight and emphasized that it was unintentional.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded by acknowledging Nandy’s good intentions but criticized the process as not meeting expected standards. David Kogan, a media rights expert, was designated as the government’s preferred choice to lead the Independent Football Regulator in April.
A probe was initiated following revelations that Kogan had made donations to several Labour figures, including Nandy and Starmer. The investigation led by commissioner Sir William Shawcross found three breaches of the Governance Code on public appointments related to Kogan’s appointment.
The report highlighted Nandy’s failure to disclose Kogan’s donations and the lack of discussion on potential conflicts of interest during the interview process. Additionally, Kogan’s connections to the Labour Party were not disclosed.
Despite recognizing Nandy’s inadvertent breach, Shawcross noted that she should have verified any donations from Kogan before selecting him as the top candidate, especially given his extensive ties to the Labour Party.
The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport was advised to publicly disclose Kogan’s political contributions, including donations to the Labour Party prior to his appointment. Nandy welcomed the acknowledgment that she was unaware of two donations and promptly recused herself upon learning of them in June.
In response to Nandy’s actions, the PM accepted that the error was unintentional and commended her integrity. He acknowledged the need for improvements in handling conflicts of interest and praised Kogan’s suitability for the role of chair of the Independent Football Regulator.
