Tories call for Starmer to face ethics scrutiny over football regulator

The Government’s independent ethics adviser must investigate whether Sir Keir Starmer risked a conflict of interest when the new football watchdog’s chairman was chosen, the Conservatives have said.

The Tories have written to Sir Laurie Magnus, the ethics adviser, calling for the Prime Minister to face further scrutiny over donations he received from David Kogan, who was named as the Government’s preferred candidate to chair the Independent Football Regulator in April.

The new watchdog is aimed at promoting financial sustainability of clubs across the so-called football “pyramid”, and preventing big teams from joining breakaway leagues, among other things.

It comes after Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was found by a probe to have breached the code on public appointments by failing to declare she had received donations from Mr Kogan, a media rights expert.

An investigation was launched in the summer after the revelation he had donated money to both Sir Keir and Ms Nandy, as well as other Labour figures.

Following the probe by the commissioner for public appointments, Ms Nandy apologised to the Prime Minister on Thursday for “unknowingly” breaking the rules by not disclosing £2,900 in donations from Mr Kogan to her leadership campaign in the 2020 race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.

Sir Keir replied that she had “acted in good faith”, but reprimanded her by saying “the process followed was not entirely up to the standard expected”.

The Tories have since questioned whether the Prime Minister’s own donations from Mr Kogan now warrant further investigation.

They pointed out that Mr Kogan had also made donations to Sir Keir during the 2020 Labour leadership race, and gave £2,500 to the Prime Minister’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency Labour Party in the run-up to last year’s general election.

Alex Burghart, a shadow Cabinet Office minister, wrote to Sir Laurie questioning whether the Prime Minister had “exactly the same conflict of interest – if not a greater one, given the 2024 general election donation” as his Culture Secretary.

The senior Tory also suggested Sir Keir’s “extensive hospitality from the football industry” meant he should have recused himself from any part in the process of appointing Mr Kogan.

Mr Burghart said: “This week Keir Starmer let Lisa Nandy off the hook for her failure to declare a clear conflict of interest when she appointed David Kogan – one of her donors – as head of the new football regulator.

“Starmer has the exact same conflict, having also secretly taken Kogan’s cash. Yet whereas Nandy eventually recused herself from matters relating to the regulator’s leadership, Starmer has not done so.”

The shadow minister said Mr Kogan’s appointment “must be immediately withdrawn”, adding: “The Independent Adviser must investigate Starmer and, if he has breached the Ministerial Code, take appropriate action.”

In his report published on Thursday, commissioner Sir William Shawcross said that when announcing Mr Kogan’s preferred candidacy, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport should have publicly disclosed his political activity.

The commissioner in particular highlighted the £33,410 donated by him and his company to the Labour Party and Labour candidates in the five years prior.

Mr Kogan, in response to the findings, said he had never been “aware of any deviation from best practice” in the appointment process and could “now draw a line under the process”.

Sources within Government were keen to point out that Mr Kogan applied for the position to chair the football regulator under the previous Conservative government, after being encouraged to do so.

A Government spokesperson said: “The chair of the football regulator was appointed by ministers in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as set out in the legislation.

“This was the case under the previous government.

“The independent commissioner for public appointments reviewed the appointment process extensively and found no breaches aside from those set out in the report.”

Published: 08/11/2025 by Radio NewsHub