MP, Shadow Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and Sport, said:
“The decision to appoint David Kogan, a major Labour Party donor
and former director of LabourList, as Chair of the Independent
Football Regulator, without disclosing his significant personal
donations to and , represents a serious breach of
public trust.
“This goes to the heart of Keir Starmer's judgment. Both he and
have very serious questions to
answer about how such an appointment was ever allowed to proceed.
“This appointment bears all the hallmarks of Labour cronyism. We
now know there have been three clear breaches of the process,
leaving this appointment completely untenable. If Labour is
serious about integrity and transparency, this appointment must
be withdrawn immediately. Anything less would be a betrayal of
the very standards Labour claim to uphold.”
MP, Shadow Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, who made the complaint to the Public
Appointments Commissioner, said:
“This is a wider pattern of corruption across this Labour
Government, parachuting in political cronies into Whitehall.
Their promises on ethics and integrity in government have been
repeatedly broken by continued breaches of the rules they
pledged to uphold.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
-
On 5 May 2025, Dr MP, Shadow Chancellor of
the Duchy of Lancaster, wrote to the Commissioner for Public
Appointments, raising questions about the campaign to appoint a
Chair of the Independent Football Regulator. Dr
Burghart asked specifically about public disclosure of
political activity and declaration of interests and
relationships.
-
The Commissioner for Public Appointments found three
breaches:
-
- Breach 1: The Secretary of State failed to declare and
resolve an interest before selecting Mr Kogan as the
Government's preferred candidate.
- Breach 2: A potential conflict of interest was not
discussed with Mr Kogan at interview.
- Breach 3: The department failed to disclose the political
activity of the successful candidate, Mr Kogan, in the
appropriate manner. (The Commissioner for Public
Appointments, Decision Note: The Appointment of the Chair
of the Independent Football Regulator, 6 November 2025,
link)
