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The Conservative Party is urging an investigation into Sir Keir Starmer’s conduct concerning the appointment of Labour donor David Kogan as the head of England’s new football regulatory body.
This call follows a determination that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy “unknowingly” violated public appointment regulations by failing to disclose Mr. Kogan’s financial contributions to her 2020 Labour leadership bid before selecting him for the position.
The Conservatives contend that the Prime Minister faced “exactly the same conflict of interest,” given Mr. Kogan’s donations to his Labour leadership campaign.
Downing Street has dismissed these calls, citing an extensive review by the Independent Commissioner for Public Appointments that found no additional breaches of protocol.
Ms. Nandy announced Mr. Kogan, a sports rights executive, as the government’s preferred candidate to chair the football regulator in April.
However, she withdrew from the appointment process the following month, after Mr. Kogan disclosed to MPs that he had made “very small sums” contributions to her 2020 Labour leadership campaign, as well as that of the current Prime Minister.
In a report published on Thursday, the Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir William Shawcross, revealed that Mr. Kogan had made two donations of £1,450 each to Ms. Nandy’s campaign, one personally and one through his company.
These donations were part of a total of £33,410 given to Labour and its candidates in the five years leading up to his appointment, according to the commissioner.
The two donations to Ms. Nandy’s campaign fell below the declaration thresholds set by the Electoral Commission and Parliament.
However, Sir William stated that Ms. Nandy should have verified whether the sports agent had made contributions before endorsing him and taken “any necessary consequential action.”
He added, “The fact of the donations was capable of giving rise to a perceived conflict of interest in the appointment process.”
Ms. Nandy apologized on Thursday, expressing to the Prime Minister in a letter: “I deeply regret this error. I appreciate the perception it could create.”
Sir Keir has voiced his support for the Culture Secretary, responding that she had “acted in good faith” and noting “the commissioner’s findings that the error was unknowing.”
The commissioner did not specify the amount Mr. Kogan donated to Sir Keir’s 2020 campaign. Electoral transparency records indicate that he separately donated £2,500 to Sir Keir’s local Labour branch in May of last year.
While Ms. Nandy was the “formal appointing authority” for the regulator role, the government lists it as one in which the Prime Minister has a “strong interest.”
According to Sir William’s report, Mr. Kogan’s appointment was “cleared” by 10 Downing Street, having been sent for “final approval.”
The Conservatives have now requested that Sir Laurie Magnus, Sir Keir’s ethics adviser, investigate whether the Prime Minister’s role in Mr. Kogan’s appointment, and his assessment of Ms. Nandy’s role, violated ministerial regulations regarding transparency.
In a letter to Sir Laurie, Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart wrote: “If Ms. Nandy recused herself from involvement in this appointment, shouldn’t the Prime Minister have done the same?”
“Isn’t the Prime Minister complicit in exactly the same conflict of interest?”
According to Sir William’s report, Mr. Kogan was initially considered for the role under the previous Conservative government, but the process was paused following the announcement of last year’s general election.
The commissioner added that Mr. Kogan initially withdrew his application in November of last year before eventually being re-selected for the role as an external candidate.
In a statement released on Thursday, Mr. Kogan stated: “I have cooperated fully throughout the investigation and can now draw a line under the process.”
“As the commissioner states, my suitability for the role has never been in question, and at no point was I aware of any deviation from best practice.”
“It is now time to move on and get on with the business of setting up the IFR [Independent Football Regulator] so we can tackle the critical and urgent issues facing football.”
A Government spokesperson stated: “The Chair of the Football regulator was appointed by Ministers in the Department for Culture, Media, and Sports, as set out in the legislation.”
“This was the case under the previous Government.”
“The Independent Commissioner for Public Appointments reviewed the appointment process extensively and found no breaches aside from those set out in the report.”
A report concludes that she should have disclosed David Kogan’s donations to her Labour campaign earlier than she did.
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