Culture Secretary breached governance code in appointing football watchdog chair
Lisa Nandy apologised for breaking the rules in a letter to the Prime Minister
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said she has been found to have breached the governance code on public appointments with her pick for the chairman of a new football watchdog.
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, she apologised for breaking the rules by failing to declare that David Kogan had donated to her leadership campaign.
She said a report by the Commissioner for Public Appointments into the appointment of Mr Kogan as chairman of the Independent Football Regulator had found she had "unknowingly" made the "error".
The Prime Minister, in his reply, told Ms Nandy "I accept your assurance there was no intentional or deliberate action on your part to undermine the expectations set out" in the code.
"I know you to be a person of integrity and on the basis of your letter, it is clear you have acted in good faith," Sir Keir wrote.
"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."