After acknowledging a mistake to his ethics chief, Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, revealed his support for the appointment of David Kogan as chairman of England’s football regulator. This support came despite Starmer recusing himself from the decision-making process due to receiving hospitality from football clubs. The Prime Minister had previously received donations from Kogan during his campaign for the Labour leadership in 2020.
This incident follows a similar breach by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who admitted to breaching a code in relation to Kogan’s appointment. Nandy failed to disclose Kogan’s donations to her leadership campaign when appointing him as chair of the Independent Football Regulator.
In a letter addressed to his ethics chief, Sir Laurie Magnus, Starmer explained his previous declarations of hospitality from football clubs and the Football Association, leading to his recusal from decisions related to the Football Governance Bill. However, in April 2025, he was informed about the appointment of Kogan by the Culture Secretary and expressed his support, a decision he later regretted as an “unfortunate error.”
Sir Laurie described the Prime Minister’s involvement in the appointment process as regrettable but acknowledged Starmer’s commitment to transparency in discussing the incident. He highlighted the importance of robust processes for managing recusals and welcomed an internal review commissioned by Starmer to improve standards in public life.