Keir Starmer has acknowledged an “unfortunate mistake” to the head of ethics regarding the selection of the chairman for England’s football regulatory body.
Despite abstaining from the process, the Prime Minister expressed his approval of Labour donor David Kogan’s appointment in April 2025 after receiving a memo. Starmer had previously refrained from involvement in decisions due to receiving hospitality from football clubs multiple times.
Furthermore, during his campaign for the Labour leadership in 2020, Starmer received two donations from Kogan. This oversight occurred shortly after Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy apologized for breaching a code related to the same appointment.
In a recently published letter from No10, Starmer informed ethics chief Sir Laurie Magnus that he had previously disclosed receiving hospitality from football clubs and the Football Association on several occasions. He clarified that he had agreed to recuse himself from decisions concerning the Football Governance Bill since Autumn 2024 and had adhered to that agreement.
However, Starmer admitted that in April 2025, he was informed via a note that the Culture Secretary intended to appoint David Kogan as the inaugural Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. Despite knowing the decision was the Secretary of State’s to make, Starmer expressed his support for the appointment. He acknowledged that it would have been better if he had not received the note or endorsed the appointment, and expressed sincere regret for the error.
Responding to the situation, Sir Laurie described it as “regrettable” that the PM was involved in the appointment despite his recusal. However, he commended Starmer for demonstrating a commitment to transparency by discussing the incident.
Sir Laurie emphasized the importance of robust processes for managing recusals within No 10 and welcomed the internal review initiated by Starmer. He viewed the disclosures in Starmer’s letter as a positive step towards transparency and improving the standards in public life.