Fresh headache for Keir Starmer as Cabinet minister Lisa Nandy is discovered to have damaged guidelines in selecting Labour donor to be chair of soccer regulator

Cabinet minister Lisa Nandy was tonight found to have broken rules by picking a Labour donor to be the new chair of the football regulator.

A watchdog said there were ‘material breaches’ of the governance code in the choice of David Kogan as the Government’s preferred candidate for the high-profile position.

This included Ms Nandy’s failure to declare that Mr Kogan made donations worth nearly £3,000 to her Labour leadership campaign in 2020.

In a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this evening, Ms Nandy, the Culture Secretary, said she ‘deeply regrets’ the error.

She said she ‘did not know about two donations’ she received as a leadership candidate five years ago.

Ms Nandy added that, as soon as she ‘discovered these donations existed’, she declared them and recused herself from the process of appointing Mr Kogan.

In his reply, Sir Keir told the Culture Secretary she had acted in ‘good faith’.

But he also offered a reprimand, adding: ‘The process followed was not entirely up to the standard expected.’

The cronyism row is the latest headache for the PM following the recent scandal over Chancellor Rachel Reeves failing to obtain a rental licence before letting out her family home.

Sir Keir has already been rocked in recent months by the departure of Angela Rayner as his deputy PM over a tax row.

That came shortly before he was forced to sack Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the US following fresh revelations about his friendship with notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

In a report published on Thursday, Sir William Shawcross, the Commissioner for Public Appointments, found three breaches of the governance code in the Government’s choice of Mr Kogan.

These also included that Mr Kogan’s past donations to Ms Nandy were not discussed during his interview for the role.

And the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was found to have ‘failed to disclose the political activity of the successful candidate… in the appropriate manner’.

Sir William highlighted how, in the five years before being picked to be the new football regulator chair, Mr Kogan donated a total of £33,410 to Labour and party candidates.

‘When Mr Kogan’s preferred candidacy was announced, it contained no mention of political activity,’ the report stated.

In his reply to Ms Nandy’s letter, Sir Keir said it was ‘clear you have acted in good faith’.

‘The Commissioner acknowledges that you acted swiftly to step back from the appointment when you became aware of the perception of a conflict of interest,’ the PM added.

‘Nonetheless, the process followed was not entirely up to the standard expected and I welcome your department’s willingness to cooperate with the Commissioner and the Cabinet Office to learn lessons and to improve the guidance on handling conflicts of interests.

‘I also recognise that the report in no way casts any doubt on the suitability of Mr Kogan for the important role of chair of the independent football regulator.

‘It is important now that the Government gets on with delivering our manifesto commitment to make Britain the best place in the world to be a football fan.’

Ms Nandy told the PM that ‘throughout this process I have acted proactively, openly and with integrity at every stage’.

She wrote: ‘The Commissioner’s conclusions include a finding that I unknowingly breached an aspect of the governance code on public appointments.

‘I deeply regret this error. I appreciate the perception it could create, but it was not deliberate and I apologise for it.’

In the recommendations of his report, Sir William reminded ministers ‘of their duties to declare and resolve any interests and relationships which they have with a candidate participating in a campaign regulated by the governance code’.

He also urged Cabinet Office officials to ‘work together to agree steps to avoid a similar situation arising in the future’.

Mr Kogan was a director of LabourList, a pro-Labour news website, until April this year.

He was announced as Ms Nandy’s preferred candidate to chair the new independent football regulator on April 25.

He has advised the Premier League, the EFL and other leagues on broadcast rights deals in a 45-year career as a media executive, business leader and corporate advisor.

The regulator’s main remit will be to operate a licensing system for clubs in the top five tiers of the English game, focusing primarily on their financial sustainability and how accountable they are to their fans.

Mr Kogan said: ‘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 so we can tackle the critical and urgent issues facing football.’