Prime Minister Admits 'Unfortunate Error' in Football Regulator Appointment
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has formally expressed his sincere regret to his independent ethics adviser after signing off on the appointment of Labour donor David Kogan as chairman of England's new football regulator. The incident, which Sir Keir described as an unfortunate error, occurred despite a prior agreement to recuse himself from matters related to the Football Governance Bill.
The Breach and the Background
The controversy emerged after the Conservative party called for an investigation into a potential conflict of interest. This followed a separate independent probe which found that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had unknowingly breached the public appointments code by failing to declare £2,900 in donations from Mr Kogan made in 2020.
The connections run deeper, as the former media executive also donated to Sir Keir's own Labour leadership campaign in 2020 and to his constituency party before the general election last year.
Starmer's Explanation and Internal Review
In a letter to his independent standards adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister outlined the sequence of events. He confirmed that in autumn 2024, he had agreed to recuse himself from decisions on the Football Governance Bill due to his personal interest in the sport and having received football-related hospitality.
However, in April 2025, a note was submitted to him informing him that the Culture Secretary, after running the appointment process, wanted to appoint David Kogan as the inaugural Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. The note asked for the PM's confirmation that he was content with the decision.
"I knew that the decision was for the Secretary of State to take and I replied on the basis that the decision had been taken," Sir Keir wrote. "In retrospect, it would have been better if I had not been given the note or confirmed that I was content with the appointment. This was an unfortunate error for which I express my sincere regret."
As a consequence, the Prime Minister has commissioned an internal review of the processes by which recusals are managed within Number 10 to prevent a repeat of the error.
Ethics Adviser's Response and Call for Robust Processes
In his reply, Sir Laurie Magnus stated it was regrettable that the Prime Minister was asked to confirm his contentment with the appointment despite the agreed-upon recusal. He emphasised the importance of having robust processes for managing recusals in Downing Street.
Sir Laurie welcomed the internal review, stating that the Prime Minister's disclosures were "an important demonstration of your commitment to transparency and to ensuring that mistakes are acknowledged and necessary steps taken to improve processes underpinning standards in public life."
