The Culture Secretary has apologized for breaking rules by not declaring she had received donations from the man she chose to head England’s new football regulator.
On Thursday, the public appointments commissioner published a report which found that David Kogan had made two separate donations of £1,450 to Lisa Nandy, when she was running to be Labor leader in 2020.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Nandy said: “We didn’t meet the highest standards, that’s my fault.”
The Conservatives have said Nandy’s actions were “a serious breach of public trust” and called for a further investigation into Sir Keir Starmer, who also received donations from Kogan.
In a statement, Mr Kogan said: “As stated by the commissioner, my suitability for the position has never been in doubt and at no time was I aware of any deviation from best practice.”
Kogan, a sports rights executive, was initially long-listed for the football regulator role under the previous Conservative government.
Nandy became involved in the process after Labor won the 2024 general election and took over as culture secretary.
In April, he announced that Kogan would be his preferred choice to fill the £130,000-a-year role.
However, a month later he withdrew from the appointment process after Kogan revealed to a parliamentary committee that he had donated “very small sums” to Nandy in 2020.
In his report, the commissioner for public appointments, Sir William Shawcross, said Nandy had “unknowingly” breached the code and should have checked whether Kogan had given him money before choosing him as his preferred candidate.
When asked why she had not declared the donation, Lisa Nandy told Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday that she knew nothing about the donation at the time it was made.
He said that during his leadership campaign he had been “on the road” doing electioneering and interviews.
“I was not involved in fundraising for the campaign, and as soon as I found out I came out and recused myself and fully complied with the process.”
He insisted that the Labor Party was different from the Conservatives, saying: “When we make mistakes – and we will make mistakes, we are human beings – we submit to independent processes, respect the outcome and accept the consequences.”
In his report, Sir William said: “It need not be true that the donations actually influenced the Secretary of State’s decision-making, only that the risk of this perception should have been mitigated by the declaration of this financial interest.”
It found the Department for Culture, Media and Sport had breached rules by failing to declare Kogan’s previous donations to the Labor Party when he was named as the government’s preferred choice for the role.
Sir William found that the department also broke rules by not discussing his donations when Kogan was interviewed for the job.
After the report was published, Nandy wrote a letter to the Prime Minister saying: “I deeply regret this mistake. I appreciate the perception it might create.”
In his response, Sir Keir Starmer wrote: “I know that you are a person of integrity and it is clear from your letter that you have acted in good faith.”
Establishing a football regulatory function was one of the recommendations of a fan-led review into the governance of football clubs.
The regulator is tasked with improving the financial sustainability of clubs and safeguarding “the heritage of English football”.
