Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has issued an apology for breaching a code related to public appointments by failing to disclose that a candidate she selected to lead the football regulator had contributed to her leadership campaign.
Nandy acknowledged unintentionally violating the governance code by not revealing that David Kogan had donated £2,900 to her leadership bid in 2020. In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, she expressed regret for the oversight and apologized for any potential misperceptions it may have caused.
Although Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged Nandy’s good intentions, he criticized the oversight in the selection process, stating that it did not meet the expected standards. David Kogan, a media rights expert, had been named as the preferred candidate to chair the Independent Football Regulator by the government in April.
An investigation was initiated following concerns over Kogan’s donations to both Labour Party members, including Nandy and Starmer. The Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir William Shawcross, concluded that the appointment of Kogan breached the Governance Code on public appointments in three ways.
Apart from Nandy’s failure to disclose Kogan’s donations, the potential conflict of interest was not addressed during the interview process, and Kogan’s connections to the Labour Party were not disclosed. While Nandy accepted her unknowing breach of the code, Sir William emphasized that she should have verified any donations from Kogan before selecting him for the role.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport should have publicly disclosed Kogan’s political contributions totaling £33,410 to the Labour Party and Labour candidates in the five years leading up to his preferred candidacy announcement, according to the commissioner.
In response to Nandy’s letter, PM Johnson accepted that the error was unintentional and recognized her integrity. He acknowledged the need to enhance guidance on handling conflicts of interest and praised the department’s cooperation with the commissioner and the Cabinet Office to improve processes.
The report did not question Kogan’s suitability for the chairmanship of the Independent Football Regulator.