Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has apologised “unreservedly” after an independent investigation found she failed to meet “the highest standards” during the appointment of the new football watchdog’s first chair.

The investigation found Ms Nandy “unknowingly” breached the code on public appointments by not declaring that she had received two donations totalling £2,900 from David Kogan, who was later appointed to the role in April.

According to the report, Ms Nandy had been aware that Mr Kogan, a former media executive and Premier League director, had made donations to the Labour Party, but not that he had also contributed directly to her 2020 Labour leadership campaign.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Ms Nandy said the donations were discussed during Mr Kogan’s interview for the position, but she had not known that some of them were made personally to her campaign.

“It was discussed at the interview, it just wasn’t discussed that he donated specifically to me because I didn’t know about that,” she told the BBC.

She added that Mr Kogan also had not recalled making those particular contributions.

“He hadn’t recalled it, but as soon as that was discovered, as soon as I was given that information, that same day, I’d put that information into the public domain and recused myself from the process,” she said.

Ms Nandy accepted responsibility for the error, saying she had fallen short of expected standards.

“I’ve said ‘hands up, this was not a perfect process. I apologise for them, and more importantly I’ll put in place processes to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” she insisted.

Following the investigation’s findings, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer formally reprimanded Ms Nandy, but accepted her explanation that the breach had been inadvertent.

However, the Conservative Party has called for further scrutiny.

Senior Tories have urged the Government’s independent standards adviser to examine whether the Prime Minister risked a conflict of interest by allowing the appointment to proceed.

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A Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) spokesperson said the independent investigation had been carried out in line with the public appointments code and that “the Culture Secretary has accepted the findings and apologised.”

The new football watchdog, established under Labour’s plans to strengthen regulation in English football, will have powers to oversee club finances, ownership structures, and fan engagement, following several recent crises across the game.

Ms Nandy said she would ensure tighter processes are put in place for future appointments

She added that transparency and accountability would be central to her department’s work.