Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has issued an unreserved apology after an independent investigation found she unknowingly breached the code on public appointments by failing to declare donations from the chairman of the new football watchdog.
The Investigation Findings
The probe concluded that Ms Nandy failed to declare she had received two donations totalling £2,900 from David Kogan, a media rights expert, during her 2020 Labour leadership campaign. The investigation found the breach was committed unknowingly, with the Culture Secretary stating she wasn't involved in fundraising for her campaign and only discovered the donations recently.
Following the investigation's conclusion, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reprimanded his minister, stating that the process followed was not entirely up to the standard expected, though he acknowledged Ms Nandy had acted in good faith.
Political Fallout and Tory Response
The Conservative Party has escalated the matter by asking Parliament's standards watchdog to investigate what they describe as a serious breach of public trust. Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake has questioned why two payments of £1,450 were made - both falling just below the £1,500 threshold at which MPs must declare donations.
The Conservatives have suggested that splitting the payments and using two separate names - one from Mr Kogan personally and another from 'David Kogan Ltd' - appeared deliberately designed to conceal the total amount from public scrutiny.
Nandy's Defence and Ongoing Controversy
Appearing on BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Nandy maintained that Mr Kogan's status as a Labour donor was discussed during his interview for the role of chairing the Independent Football Regulator, though his specific donations to her were not raised because she was unaware of them.
The Culture Secretary emphasised that as soon as the information came to light, she immediately made it public and recused herself from the appointment process. She also pointed out that Mr Kogan had been approached by the previous Conservative government, who began the appointment process.
In response to the findings, Mr Kogan stated he had never been aware of any deviation from best practice in the appointment process and could now draw a line under the matter. He revealed he had been transparent about his Labour Party links throughout, providing the government with a list of every donation he had made.
The controversy continues to unfold as the Tories have also written to the government's ethics adviser, questioning whether the Prime Minister faced a similar conflict of interest given donations Mr Kogan made to Sir Keir's leadership campaign and his constituency party.
