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Cabinet minister Lisa Nandy was tonight found to have broken rules by picking a Labour donor to be the new chair of the football regulator. A watchdog said there were 'material breaches' of the governance code in the choice of David Kogan as the Government's preferred candidate for the high-profile position. This included Ms Nandy's failure to declare that Mr Kogan made donations worth nearly £3,000 to her Labour leadership campaign in 2020. In a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this evening, Ms Nandy, the Culture Secretary, said she 'deeply regrets' the error. She said she 'did not know about two donations' she received as a leadership candidate five years ago. Ms Nandy added that, as soon as she 'discovered these donations existed', she declared them and recused herself from the process of appointing Mr Kogan. In his reply, Sir Keir told the Culture Secretary she had acted in 'good faith'. But he also offered a reprimand by adding: 'The process followed was not entirely up to the standard expected.' It is the latest headache for the PM following a furious row last week over Chancellor Rachel Reeves' failure to obtain a rental licence before letting out her family home. Sir Keir has already been rocked in recent months by the departure of Angela Rayner as his deputy over a tax row. That came shortly before sacked Lord Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the US following fresh revelations about his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In a report published on Thursday, the Commissioner for Public Appointments found three breaches of the governance code in the choice of Mr Kogan. These also included that Mr Kogan's past donations to Ms Nandy were not discussed during his interview for the role. And the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was found to have 'failed to disclose the political activity of the successful candidate... in the appropriate manner'. The watchdog highlighted how, in the five years before being picked to be the new football regulator chair, Mr Kogan donated a total of £33,410 to Labour and party candidates. 'When Mr Kogan's preferred candidacy was announced, it contained no mention of political activity,' the report stated. In his reply to Ms Nandy, Sir Keir said it was 'clear you have acted in good faith'. 'The Commissioner acknowledges that you acted swiftly to step back from the appointment when you became aware of the perception of a conflict of interest,' the PM added. 'Nonetheless, the process followed was not entirely up to the standard expected and I welcome your Department's willingness to cooperate with the Commissioner and the Cabinet Office to learn lessons and to improve the guidance on handling conflicts of interests. 'I also recognise that the report in no way casts any doubt on the suitability of Mr Kogan for the important role of Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. 'It is important now that the Government gets on with delivering our manifesto commitment to make Britain the best place in the world to be a football fan.' Ms Nandy told the PM that 'throughout this process I have acted proactively, openly and with integrity at every stage'. She wrote: 'The Commissioner's conclusions include a finding that I unknowingly breached an aspect of the Governance Code on Public Appointments. 'I deeply regret this error. I appreciate the perception it could create, but it was not deliberate and I apologise for it.
