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A cabinet minister has defended Lisa Nandy after the culture secretary apologised for breaching the governance code on public appointments over her choice of the independent football regulator.
Ms Nandy has been accused by the Conservatives of “cronyism” after she “unknowingly” broke the code by failing to declare she had received £2,900 in donations from David Kogan, her pick to chair the new football watchdog.
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Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News, Housing Secretary Steve Reed said Ms Nandy had apologised for her actions and did not know he was a donor at the time she appointed him.
“As soon as she found out, she took the appropriate action and the independent investigator has confirmed that,” he said.
In October, Mr Kogan was appointed as the football regulator, conceived by the Tories in the wake of the furore over the failed European Super League project.
However, his appointment became controversial after it emerged that Mr Kogan, a former broadcasting executive who has advised clients including the Premier League, was not on the original shortlist and donated to the leadership campaigns of both future prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, as well as Ms Nandy.
Sir William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments, ruled that the government’s appointment of Mr Kogan made three breaches of the code.
As well as Ms Nandy’s failure to disclose his donations to her 2020 leadership campaign, the potential conflict of interest arising from that was not discussed with Mr Kogan at interview, and his links to the Labour Party were not revealed, the report said.
Mr Kogan was also a director of LabourList, the independent news site, and has written two books about the party.
In a letter to the prime minister, Ms Nandy said: “I am writing to you following…
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