Lisa Nandy to be quizzed on football regulator after accusations of cronyism
A full inquiry has been launched into Lisa Nandy's proposed appointment of David Kogan as chairman of the Independent Football Regulator following accusations of cronyism.
William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments, has opened an investigation in the wake of Kogan's revelation last month that he had donated to the Culture Secretary's Labour leadership campaign.
Shawcross, whose intervention has been welcomed by the Conservatives, confirmed the inquiry in an email to Susannah Storey, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's permanent secretary, last Thursday.
He wrote: 'Having now completed an initial assessment of this case, informed by spot checks, I believe that a full inquiry into the campaign is necessary.
'This inquiry will be conducted with the object of ensuring that the appointment was made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, including the principles of public appointments. I would be grateful if you could ensure that all requests for information relating to this campaign are fulfilled quickly and in full.
'Once my office has received all the relevant correspondence and documents, the inquiry will take the time necessary to clarify the procedures and practices followed by the appointing authority during this campaign.
'This is likely to involve interviews with key participants, including the Government's preferred candidate and the Secretary of State. The outcome of this inquiry will be sent to participants and published on the office's website.'
Kogan, a media executive nominated as the first chair of the new football regulator in April, told MPs last month that he had made 'very small' contributions both to Nandy and Sir Keir Starmer's 2020 Labour leadership campaigns.
The admission reignited the row over 'crony' appointments by the party, which was accused by the Conservatives of breaching transparency rules.
Stuart Andrew, Shadow Culture Secretary, said: 'This appointment bears all the hallmarks of yet more Labour cronyism. After significant public pressure, Lisa Nandy has belatedly stepped aside from the process, a necessary move that highlights just how compromised this selection has become.
'No 10 must now come clean about the involvement of the Downing Street appointments unit and special advisers in promoting David Kogan as the preferred candidate. The public has a right to know whether this was a fair and impartial process, or yet another case of political patronage disguised as due diligence. The decision to launch an inquiry is welcome.'
A DCMS spokesperson said: 'We have received the letter from the commissioner for public appointments and we look forward to cooperating fully with his office. The appointment is in the process of being ratified in the usual way.'
Kogan appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport select committee on May 7 after being named by Nandy as the Government's preferred choice to lead the new body.
'I am prepared to declare now, on the public record, that five years ago I contributed very small sums of money to both the leadership campaigns of both Sir Keir Starmer and of Lisa Nandy,' he said, after reports he also donated £75,000 to Labour MPs.
'That hasn't been discovered by the press and I am happy to declare it now,' he said, insisting he had 'total personal independence from all of them', and had 'never actually been particularly close to any of the individuals to whom I have donated money'.
He told MPs: 'I'm not really susceptible to any pressure, including political pressure, and the so-called ties to the Labour Party are, in fact, far less than have appeared in the public press.
'I don't believe that I have undermined that [independence] by writing books about the Labour Party, being on the LabourList board or being a donor, but clearly that's a judgment call that others may need to make, rather than myself.'
Kogan added that he had 'never had a one-on-one meeting' with Starmer and had not met him since he became Prime Minister, but recognised there was 'a perception of bias'.
The donations to Starmer and Nandy's leadership campaigns are understood to have been below the threshold for public declaration. A source told Telegraph Sport they were each less than £3,000.
Following Kogan's select committee appearance, Louie French, the shadow sports minister, said the failure to disclose those donations publicly was 'a clear breach of the governance code on public appointments' and called for an investigation.
He said: 'The decision to install David Kogan – a major Labour Party donor and former director of LabourList – as chair of the Independent Football Regulator, without disclosing his extensive personal political donations to Keir Starmer, is a serious breach of public trust.
'Fans were promised an impartial and independent regulator, but instead they are being handed a political appointee whose impartiality is already in question.'
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said at the time that Kogan's appointment had been 'made as a result of fair and open competition' and run 'in accordance with the Government's code on public appointments'.
The spokesman repeated that all rules had been followed when asked whether Nandy or Starmer had declared the donations from Kogan during the appointment process.
He said: 'The declaration process as set out by the rules has obviously been followed. The process for appointing him to the role has been followed and will continue to be followed.'
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