Latest news with #cronyism
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Labour facing fresh 'cronyism' row after donor wins £5m contract for project 'overseen by former staff'
Labour is facing a fresh 'cronyism' row after it emerged a party donor won a multi-million pound contract for a project partly overseen by one of its former employees. Public Digital is helping to run a 'Test, Learn and Grow' initiative across public services as part of a Whitehall reform programme. The London-based consultancy is being paid £5million as the 'strategic delivery partner' for the Cabinet Office initiative. This will see 'innovation squads' of policy officials, tech specialists and other experts sent to communities across England to try and deliver better public services. According to The Times, Emily Middleton - a former partner at Public Digital - sits on the 'programme board' for Test, Learn and Grow. Public Digital donated the equivalent of £100,000 to Labour prior to last year's general election. The firm was also caught up in a row over the appointment of Ms Middleton to a senior Government role shortly after Labour won power. She was last summer named a director general at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) earning between £125,000 and £208,100 a year. Ms Middleton had previously been on secondment to the office of Peter Kyle, who is now the Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, from Public Digital. The costs of her employment by Mr Kyle's office, while in opposition, were paid for by the consultancy firm as a 'donation in kind'. The Tories have previously demanded an investigation into the links between Labour and Public Digital. Alex Burghart, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said Ms Middleton's role with the Test, Learn and Grow project represented a 'a serious potential conflict of interest'. 'Labour ministers must urgently come clean on these murky decisions,' he added. Rose Whiffen, senior research officer at Transparency International UK, said: 'When Government departments award contracts to firms that previously employed their senior officials, they must demonstrate these contracts were won through genuine open competition - or provide clear justification if not. 'Simply acknowledging the existing relationship is not enough. The public deserves to see clear evidence of how potential conflicts of interest have been actively identified and mitigated.' Whitehall sources said Ms Middleton had not attended either of the two Test, Learn and Grow programme board meetings that have taken place to date. They also said the programme board is not involved in commercial decision making. A Government spokesman said the newspaper report 'has no basis'. 'Emily Middleton has had no role in decisions or deliberations relating to this contract or any other Public Digital has bid for,' they added. A Public Digital spokeswoman said: 'Our team's expertise, not political affiliations, has earned us the trust of Government bodies across multiple projects. 'The Government is right to recognise that bringing in outside expertise, including from the private sector, is sorely needed to drive reform and create better public services for everyone.'
The Independent
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Inquiry launched into appointment of football regulator chairman
The man set to lead the new football regulator faces an inquiry into his appointment following accusations of 'cronyism' from the Conservatives. David Kogan, a media rights expert, was named as the Government's preferred candidate to chair the Independent Football Regulator in April, and his appointment was endorsed by a cross-party committee of MPs last month. But the revelation that he had donated money to both Sir Keir Starmer and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy – as well as other Labour figures – drew complaints from the Conservatives and calls for the commissioner for public appointments to investigate. In a letter to the permanent secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, commissioner Sir William Shawcross said he had carried out a series of 'spot checks' and now believed a full inquiry into Mr Kogan's appointment was 'necessary'. Sir William's inquiry will look into whether the rules on public appointments were followed, and is likely to involve interviews with both Mr Kogan and Ms Nandy. Mr Kogan was originally approached about the football regulator job by the Conservatives while they were still in office, and has advised the Premier League, EFL and other leagues on broadcast rights. He has also donated thousands of pounds to Labour MPs and candidates in recent years, and sat on the board of Labour news website LabourList. During his pre-appointment hearing with the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee – which later backed his appointment – he revealed he had also donated 'very small sums' to Sir Keir and Ms Nandy's leadership campaigns in 2020. Those donations had not previously been revealed as they were below the threshold for public declaration. A week later, Ms Nandy wrote to the committee to inform MPs that she had stepped back from making the final decision on whether to appoint Mr Kogan, delegating the choice to sport minister Stephanie Peacock. Stuart Andrew, the Conservative shadow culture secretary, said Mr Kogan's appointment 'bears all the hallmarks of yet more Labour cronyism', adding Ms Nandy's decision to step back 'highlights just how compromised this selection has become'. He said: 'Number 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.' Mr Kogan did not comment on the launch of the inquiry.
The Guardian
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Lisa Nandy removes herself from final decision on leader of football regulator
Lisa Nandy has removed herself from the final decision over who will lead the new football regulator, after it emerged the preferred candidate had donated to the culture secretary's Labour leadership campaign. David Kogan, a media executive who was nominated by the government as chair of the independent football regulator earlier this year, revealed last month that he had given money to Nandy during her bid to succeed Jeremy Corbyn in 2020. He also gave money to Keir Starmer's campaign. Kogan, who volunteered the information during the approval process for the football regulator job, said the contributions were 'very small'. They did not need to be declared publicly under political donation rules. However, Nandy has now opted to stand aside from giving final approval to Kogan's appointment. She has written to the culture, media and sport select committee to inform them of her decision, which she said was designed to 'avoid the perception of any bias or lack of independence from government'. 'As a first step to avoid any risk of this, I am writing to inform you that I have delegated the final decision on the chair's appointment,' she wrote. The final decision will be signed off by Stephanie Peacock, a junior culture minister. It shows Labour's sensitivity over allegations of cronyism, after Starmer and other senior figures were criticised over their acceptance of gifts at the start of the new government last year. They have since vowed to stop accepting such gifts. Starmer ultimately paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality received since becoming prime minister, including six Taylor Swift tickets, four tickets to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a designer. One significant Labour donor, the peer Waheed Alli, was briefly given a Downing Street pass. Kogan declared the donations to Nandy and Starmer as he appeared before the culture committee last month. He said he had 'total personal independence' from both of them, adding he was never 'particularly close' to any of the politicians to whom he had donated money. 'I don't believe that I have undermined that by writing books about the Labour party, being on the [political website] LabourList board or being a donor, but clearly that's a judgment call that others may need to make,' he told MPs at the time. Max Wilkinson, the Liberal Democrat culture spokesperson, said Nandy should reveal the extent of her dealings with Kogan. 'After so many years of dodgy dealing by the Conservatives, people rightly demanded a fresh start under Labour,' he said. 'The culture secretary should set the record straight, so parliament can get on with bringing in the much-needed new independent football regulator.' Stuart Andrew, the shadow culture secretary, said the appointment 'bears all the hallmarks of Labour cronyism'. 'After public pressure Lisa Nandy has finally excused herself from this decision,' he said. 'The prime minister should have done the same to his permanent secretary. It is a clear conflict of interest for him and his constituency association to have taken money from a political donor, and then be involved in parachuting that individual as an independent regulator. 'No 10 need to come clean on the role of the Downing Street appointments team and special advisers in putting forward David Kogan as the preferred candidate.' Kogan has significant experience in the world of football finance after more than two decades negotiating TV rights sales. However, the Guardian has previously reported that ministers were reluctant to appoint him because of the perception that it was a political appointment. The prime minister's official spokesperson has said Kogan's selection was made 'as a result of fair and open competition' and in accordance with the code of conduct on public appointments.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Keir's own goal? Labour's pick for new football regulator chief risks fresh 'cronyism' row as he reveals he donated to both Starmer's and Lisa Nandy's leadership campaigns
Labour 's pick to lead football's new regulator risked fresh claims of cronyism today after revealing he personally donated to Sir Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy. David Kogan, who is the Government's preferred candidate to chair the watchdog, admitted previously giving cash to both the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary. He told MPs this morning he had donated to the Labour leadership campaigns of both Sir Keir and Ms Nandy in 2020, when they both competed to replace Jeremy Corbyn. Mr Kogan was already facing accusations that cronyism played a part in his appointment, due to him being a Labour donor. He was also a director of LabourList, a pro-Labour news website, until April this year. The Tories branded the latest revelation that Mr Kogan helped bankroll Sir Keir and Ms Nandy's leadership campaigns as 'outrageous'. The said it was 'an example of cronies over clubs, favours over fans' and demanded Mr Kogan be probed over a potential breach of the rules around public appointments. But Mr Kogan said he had 'total personal independence' from those Labour figures he had previously donated to and insisted the football regulator would be independent of Government. Appearing before the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Mr Kogan said there had been 'accurate and wholly inaccurate' reports about his Labour links. 'They haven't actually discovered all that I have done as a donor,' he added. 'So 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 for the Labour Party of both Keir Starmer and of Lisa Nandy. 'That hasn't been discovered by the press, I'm happy to declare it now. 'But I did those donations - and I did those donations to individual parliamentary candidates, none of whom were MPs - in the belief that actually having a leadership battle within the Labour Party with two seasoned candidates was a good thing, not a bad thing. 'And in the belief you actually want to have good parliamentary candidates to fill good parliamentary seats. 'I have never actually been particularly close to any of the individuals to whom I have donated money. 'So I have total personal independence from all of them. I also think the regulator itself guarantees independence.' In response to Mr Kogan's comments, Tory MP Louie French, the shadow sports minister, said the Conservatives 'can not support the idea of a new football regulator when it is clearly a political appointment by the Government'. 'Politics and football should not mix when it comes to governance,' he added. 'We are clear football must be independent from government. This is clearly an example of cronies over clubs, favours over fans. 'We will not support the Labour Government in bringing into disrepute English football.' Mr French said that Mr Kogan's revelations today 'appears to be a clear breach of the Governance Code on Public Appointments and must urgently be investigated'. He added: 'The decision to install a major Labour Party donor and former director of Labour List 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. 'For this reason, under new leadership, the Conservatives cannot back Labour's Football Governance Bill.' Mr Kogan was announced as Ms Nandy's preferred candidate to chair the watchdog on April 25. He has advised the Premier League, the EFL and other leagues on broadcast rights deals in a 45-year career as a media executive, business leader and corporate advisor. The regulator's main remit will be to operate a licensing system for clubs in the top five tiers of the English game, focusing primarily on their financial sustainability and how accountable they are to their fans. The legislation which will give the regulator statutory backing – the Football Governance Bill – is progressing through Parliament. The regulator is set to be handed 'backstop' powers to impose an agreement on the split of television cash between the Premier League and the EFL if they cannot agree on one themselves, possibly including consideration of parachute payments given to clubs relegated from the top flight. Talks over a so-called 'New Deal' for the EFL have effectively been on hold for more than a year. A fan-led review of football was promised in the Conservatives' 2019 election manifesto, months after Bury's collapse. The subsequent Conservative government commissioned a review chaired by former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch in 2021 in the aftermath of the European Super League scandal. The creation of an independent regulator was the key recommendation of that review, and the Labour Government has continued the work to make it a reality following its general election landslide last summer. The Premier League is keen for the regulator to remain light touch, amid concerns over-regulation could damage the competition's growth and deter investment. The EFL is supportive of the regulator, and believes the 'State of the Game' review it is expected to undertake early on can be crucial in rebalancing football's finances, which it feels must be addressed. Ms Nandy rejected cronyism claims over Mr Kogan's appointment during the Football Governance Bill's second reading on April 28, and pointed out the previous Tory government had also targeted him for the role prior to last summer's general election.
