Prime Minister Keir Starmer has publicly admitted to making an "unfortunate error" in relation to the appointment of England's first football regulator chairman, expressing his "sincere regret" in a letter to his ethics chief.
The Recusal and The Breach
The controversy centres on David Kogan, a Labour donor, who was selected as the inaugural Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. Mr Starmer had formally recused himself from all decisions concerning the Football Governance Bill in Autumn 2024 after declaring hospitality received from football clubs and the Football Association.
However, in a significant misstep, the Prime Minister confirmed he was "supportive" of Mr Kogan's appointment after being passed a note in April 2025. The note, which informed him that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy wanted to appoint Mr Kogan, asked for his consent.
Connections and Context
This incident is compounded by the Prime Minister's prior connections to the appointee. Mr Kogan donated to Sir Keir's Labour leadership campaign on two occasions in 2020.
The blunder emerges less than a week after the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, herself apologised for breaching the governance code on public appointments in relation to the same appointment. She had failed to declare that Mr Kogan had donated to her own leadership campaign.
Official Responses and Review
In his letter to Sir Laurie Magnus, the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests, Mr Starmer stated: "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. 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."
In his response, Sir Laurie Magnus described the Prime Minister's involvement as "regrettable". He noted, however, that the public disclosure of the error was an "important demonstration of your commitment to transparency".
Sir Laurie also welcomed the internal review that the Prime Minister has commissioned to strengthen the processes for managing recusals within No 10, aiming to prevent such errors in the future.
