THE Tory MP responsible for banning charities from using public funds to influence government policy accepted £22,000 from free marketeers that lobbied for the new rules.

Cabinet Office Minister Matthew Hancock, who spearheaded the move, was accused of “gross hypocrisy” by Greenpeace yesterday after it unearthed the donations.

Mr Hancock accepted a series of donations from City currency manager and Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) chairman Neil Record over the last five years, the charity found.

Greenpeace claimed that the most recent payment of £4,000 was made in November 2015 — after Mr Hancock had been appointed to his Cabinet Office position.

Mr Record was appointed as IEA chairman last March, having served as a trustee since 2008.

The new restrictions, which came into force earlier this month, prevent charities from lobbying government departments on how to best tackle issues if the money to do so came from a government grant.

Announcing the shift in policy the government acknowledged the role the IEA had played, referring to its “extensive research on so-called ‘sock puppets,’ exposing the practice of taxpayers’ money given to pressure groups being diverted to fund lobbying.”

“Matthew Hancock doesn’t want taxpayer-funded charities to lobby ministers but was happy to accept money from the boss of the charity that lobbied on this very policy,” said Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven.

“People will be forgiven for wondering who’s the sock puppet and who’s the hand in this story.”

The whole episode was “a perfect illustration of the government’s two-faced approach to lobbying — tough on charities supported by millions of people and soft on corporate lobbies representing a wealthy few,” Mr Sauven added.

The allegations were angrily rejected by the IEA.

“Neil Record’s support for Matt Hancock not only predates his elevation to the chairmanship of the IEA, but it also predates Matthew Hancock’s promotion to any government post,” said an IEA spokeswoman.

She added that the donations had been made in a “personal capacity” and were “in no way related to the work or activity of the Institute of Economic Affairs which is entirely independent from any political party.”

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: “The decision to end the farce of government lobbying government was taken based entirely on the advice of Civil Service officials.”