Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has issued an apology for breaching a code related to public appointments by failing to disclose that a candidate being considered for the chairmanship of the football regulator had contributed to her leadership campaign.

In a letter addressed to Sir Keir Starmer, Nandy expressed regret for inadvertently violating the governance code by not disclosing that David Kogan had donated £2,900 to her leadership bid during the 2020 contest to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.

Acknowledging the oversight, Nandy stated, “The Commissioner’s findings indicate that I unknowingly breached a part of the Governance Code on Public Appointments. I deeply regret this mistake. While I understand the potential perception it may create, it was unintentional, and I apologize for it.”

Responding to the situation, the Prime Minister recognized Nandy’s good intentions but pointed out that the process followed did not fully meet the expected standards.

David Kogan, a specialist in media rights, was selected as the preferred candidate by the government to lead the Independent Football Regulator in April.

An investigation was initiated following revelations that Kogan had made donations to both Starmer and Nandy, as well as other members of the Labour Party, prompting complaints from the Conservative Party and calls for a probe by the commissioner for public appointments.

In his report released recently, Commissioner Sir William Shawcross determined that the appointment of Labour donor David Kogan by the government breached three aspects of the Governance Code on public appointments.

Aside from Nandy’s failure to disclose Kogan’s donations, the potential conflict of interest arising from this was not addressed during Kogan’s interview, and his affiliations with the Labour Party were not disclosed, as per the commissioner.

While recognizing Nandy’s inadvertent breach of the code, Sir William stated that she should have verified whether she had received contributions from Kogan when selecting him as the top candidate for the government, especially considering she had been informed about his strong ties to the Labour Party.

Nandy welcomed the acknowledgment that she was unaware of two donations and emphasized that as soon as she became aware of them in June, she disclosed them and recused herself from the appointment process.

In response to Nandy’s correspondence, the Prime Minister noted the commissioner’s findings that the breach was unintentional and accepted Nandy’s assurance that there was no deliberate attempt to undermine the standards outlined in the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

He commended Nandy’s integrity but highlighted the need for improvements in the handling of conflicts of interest, expressing gratitude for her department’s cooperation in learning from the incident.

The Prime Minister also clarified that the report did not cast doubt on the suitability of Mr. Kogan for the crucial role of chairing the Independent Football Regulator.