Keir Starmer has acknowledged an unfortunate mistake to the ethics chief regarding the selection of the chairman for England’s football regulatory body.
Despite having recused himself from the process, the Prime Minister expressed support for Labour donor David Kogan’s appointment after being informed through a note in April 2025. Starmer had previously abstained from certain decisions due to receiving hospitality from football clubs on multiple occasions.
During his campaign for the Labour leadership race in 2020, Starmer received two donations from Kogan. This error occurred shortly after Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy apologized for breaching a code related to the same appointment.
Nandy had inadvertently violated the governance code by appointing Kogan as the head of the Independent Football Regulator without disclosing his past contributions to her leadership campaign.
In a letter released by No10, Starmer informed the ethics chief, Sir Laurie Magnus, that he had previously disclosed hospitality from football clubs and the Football Association and had agreed to refrain from involvement in decisions concerning the Football Governance Bill since Autumn 2024.
However, in April 2025, Starmer was notified through a note that the Culture Secretary intended to appoint David Kogan as the inaugural Chair of the Independent Football Regulator, pending scrutiny by the Select Committee. Despite acknowledging that the decision was not his to make, Starmer expressed support for the appointment, later admitting that it was an unfortunate error on his part.
In response, Sir Laurie described it as regrettable that the Prime Minister had been involved in the appointment process despite recusing himself. He commended Starmer for discussing the incident transparently and emphasized the importance of robust processes for managing recusals within No 10.
Sir Laurie also welcomed the internal review commissioned by Starmer and considered the disclosures in the letter as a significant demonstration of commitment to transparency and the improvement of standards in public life.