The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has been formally rebuked by the ministerial standards watchdog for improperly involving himself in the controversial appointment of a new football regulator, despite having previously promised to stay out of the process due to his personal interest in the sport.
Watchdog's Regret Over Prime Minister's Actions
In a significant development, Sir Laurie Magnus, the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, stated it was 'regrettable' that Sir Keir had signed off on the appointment of David Kogan to the key role. This came after the Prime Minister had agreed to recuse himself from matters relating to the Football Governance Bill, which established the regulator position, because he had accepted freebie tickets to Arsenal matches.
The rebuke follows Sir Keir's own letter to the watchdog, in which he expressed his 'sincere regret' for an 'unfortunate error'. The Prime Minister explained that he and Sir Laurie had discussed his 'interest in football' on three separate occasions. As a result of these talks, he had agreed last autumn to 'recuse myself from decisions relating to the Football Governance Bill'.
A Chain of Unfortunate Events
The controversy deepened when Sir Keir revealed that in April, the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, had informed him she wanted to appoint Mr Kogan. The PM confirmed he was 'supportive' of the choice. He later admitted that 'in retrospect, it would have been better if I had not been given the note or confirmed that I was content with the appointment'.
Further complicating matters, the Prime Minister disclosed that in June, he discussed with the watchdog the fact that Mr Kogan had donated to his Labour leadership campaign and local party branch. Following this, they agreed that his recusal should be strengthened to guard against any perception of a conflict of interest. Sir Keir has since commissioned an internal review of the processes for managing recusals in No 10.
Culture Secretary's Role in the Scandal
This incident marks the latest twist in a scandal that has also ensnared Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. An official investigation by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, Sir William Shawcross, found three breaches of the public appointments code in the process that led to Mr Kogan's selection.
The report stated that Ms Nandy had 'failed to declare and resolve an interest' before selecting Mr Kogan. It highlighted that she should have checked if he had made donations to her 2020 Labour leadership campaign before making her decision; she only did so afterwards. Mr Kogan had donated £2,900 to her campaign.
Furthermore, the investigation found that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport made 'no mention of political activity' when announcing the appointment, despite Mr Kogan and his company having donated £33,410 to the Labour Party over five years.
Despite the findings, Ms Nandy told the Commons that the report did not contain a 'single recommendation' for her personally, though she apologised for the department's failings. She insisted, 'I didn't forget to declare the donations', claiming she was unaware of them at the time of selection. Tory MP James Wild criticised her for a 'lack of contrition' in the face of a 'damning report'.
