UK CHARITIES’ fundraising could be controlled by law unless a new voluntary regulator cleans up the sector, MPs warn.

They said it was the last chance for self-regulation of charity fundraising.

The new regulator is being set up after scandals last summer, when unscrupulous fundraisers were accused of targeting old and vulnerable givers.

MPs said most charities did not engage in such practices but the behaviour of some had damaged the reputation of all, they said.

MPs on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee heard some charities like Great Ormond Street Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Support made it impossible for donors to block communication from them.

Vulnerable and elderly people were seen as fair targets by some groups, and information sold by some charities ended up in the hands of scammers, MPs were told.

The committee said charity trustees who had permitted scandalous fundraising methods were either incompetent or wilfully blind.

Chairman Bernard Jenkin said: “This is the last chance for the trustees of charities, who allowed this to happen, to put their house in order.

“Ultimately, the responsibility rests with them. No system of regulation can substitute for effective governance by trustees.”

He said charities were apologetic, but he said there was not yet a proper understanding that it is trustees who are responsible for setting the tone of their organisation.

“Their values should extend to everything they do, not just the charitable objectives,” he said.

Rob Wilson, minister for civil society, said he was willing to “step in and impose statutory regulation” if necessary.”

Fundraising practices came under scrutiny in 2015 after the death of Olive Cooke, 92, one of Britain’s longest-serving poppy sellers.

She killed herself after having more than 200 requests for money from charities in one month.

While her family said that did not contribute to her death, it did highlight the plight of vulnerable people at the mercy of unscrupulous fundraisers.

Samuel Rae, 88, a former army colonel with dementia had his details sold by charity fundraisers to fraudsters who targeted him for £35,000.

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Media caption”Charities have moved from something you can put your trust in”

The government’s response to the scandals was to set up a review which recommended a new regulator of fundraising.

Former Big Lottery Fund chief executive Stephen Dunmore was appointed in December as interim chief executive of the new regulator, responsible for setting up the organisation.

It will replace the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB), which has welcomed the call for trustees to take more responsibility for fundraising activities.

Like the FRSB, the new body will be based on self-regulation - meaning charities themselves develop and enforce standards and rules of behaviour.

Sir Stuart Etherington, who chaired the review, said it was important not to “lose sight of the principle of self-regulation in fundraising on which everyone is agreed”.

“I am not persuaded for this reason that it is appropriate for the fundraising regulator to report to a government body,” he added.

Paul Farmer, chairman of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, which represents charity leaders, said the new regulator had the “full support” of charities and should “make sure that the poor practices of a tiny number of charities don’t happen again”.

He also said charities had “looked really carefully” in recent months at their procedures on using donors’ data.