Culture Secretary Faces Fresh Scrutiny Over Donations
Labour's Lisa Nandy could be subjected to a new parliamentary investigation concerning her failure to properly declare financial donations from a party donor she later appointed to a key role. This development thrusts the Labour Party into another cronyism controversy, raising serious questions about transparency in ministerial appointments.
The Details of the Donation Breach
The Culture Secretary was forced to apologise to Prime Minister Keir Starmer after it emerged she had failed to declare £2,900 in donations from David Kogan. Ms Nandy claimed she was unaware of the funding at the time of Mr Kogan's appointment. While Sir Keir accepted her apology, stating he knew her to be 'a person of integrity,' the matter has not been laid to rest.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake has now written to Daniel Greenberg, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, formally requesting a fresh probe. In his letter, Mr Hollinrake accuses Ms Nandy of breaching parliamentary rules by registering two separate donations of £1,450 each in 2020—one from David Kogan personally and another from David Kogan Ltd.
Although individual donations below the £1,500 declaration threshold do not normally require disclosure, Mr Hollinrake argues these were 'clearly' from the same source. He suggested the 'insignificant difference of £50 in each donation would appear to be an attempt to ensure each was beneath the threshold.' Furthermore, he noted that 'the use of two names for the ultimate source would appear to demonstrate there was intent to conceal the donations.'
Broader Political Fallout and Tory Pressure
The information about the donations only became public following an investigation by the commissioner for public appointments, which was initiated after a complaint from the Conservatives. This initial probe found Ms Nandy had breached appointment rules.
In a separate move highlighting the political sensitivity, the Tories have also written to the independent adviser on ministerial standards. They questioned why the Prime Minister did not recuse himself from the appointment process, given that Sir Keir had himself received two donations from Mr Kogan. A spokesperson from Number 10 defended the process, stating the commissioner had 'reviewed the appointment process extensively and found no breaches aside from those set out in the report.'
As pressure mounts, both the parliamentary commissioner and a spokesman for Ms Nandy have been contacted for further comment on these new allegations.
