Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy issued an apology for violating a code regarding public appointments by failing to disclose that a candidate, David Kogan, who was chosen to lead the Independent Football Regulator, had contributed to her leadership campaign. The oversight led to Nandy unintentionally breaching governance code rules.
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Nandy expressed regret for the inadvertent breach and acknowledged the potential negative perception caused by the undisclosed donation from Kogan. Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged Nandy’s good intentions but criticized the oversight in the appointment process.
David Kogan, an expert in media rights, was selected as the government’s preferred choice to chair the Independent Football Regulator in April. However, concerns arose when it was revealed that Kogan had made donations to various Labour Party members, prompting an investigation.
Following the probe, Commissioner Sir William Shawcross found that the appointment of Labour donor Kogan violated the Governance Code on public appointments in three ways. Nandy’s failure to disclose Kogan’s donations, the lack of discussion on potential conflicts of interest, and undisclosed ties to the Labour Party were highlighted in the report.
The Commissioner emphasized that Nandy unknowingly breached the code but should have verified any donations received from Kogan before selecting him for the role. Additionally, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport should have publicly disclosed Kogan’s political contributions, including those to the Labour Party.
Nandy welcomed the acknowledgment that she was unaware of two donations and promptly recused herself from the process upon discovery. She reassured that she had taken diligent steps to check for any donations received since becoming a Member of Parliament but had not identified the specific donations in question.
In response to Nandy’s explanation, the Prime Minister accepted that the breach was unintentional and commended her integrity. However, he noted that the process fell short of expectations and emphasized the importance of learning from this incident to enhance conflict of interest guidelines.
The report did not question Kogan’s suitability for the role of chair of the Independent Football Regulator, emphasizing that the focus was on procedural errors rather than casting doubt on his capabilities.