Sir Stephen Bubb has hit back at comments from Charity Commission chair William Shawcross that current public concern over fundraising practices represents a crisis for the sector.

The Acevo chief executive has labelled the comments “very disappointing”. Sir Stephen said the regulator should be telling the public about the vital contribution of charities and the importance of the sector, not “following the lead set by lurid coverage in the press”.

In a speech earlier this week Shawcross said public outcry following the Olive Cooke case represented a “crisis” for the sector, and was a test for the strength and capacity of the self-regulation model for fundraising.

“I certainly don’t think it is the chair of the Charity Commission’s job to court national controversy for the sector he is mandated to support,” Sir Stephen wrote in his blog. “Firm regulation is a part of the Charity Commission’s and its chair’s job. But just as important is their job to speak out for and support the organisations they regulate. At the very least, they should be leading the public debate, not following the lead set by lurid coverage in the press.”

The Fundraising Standards Board launched an investigation in May, prompted by media allegations that 92 year old Bristol woman Olive Cooke, a committed volunteer fundraiser and regular charity donor, was overwhelmed by fundraising requests.

The FRSB received 384 complaints after the story came to light. Of the complaints raised, 42 per cent addressed the frequency of charity communications and 35 per cent were specific to fundraising approaches made to the elderly or vulnerable people.

An interim report was published early this week, and the Institute for Fundraising yesterday announced planned changes to improve fundraising practices.

“Yes, charities should be reviewing our fundraising practices,” Sir Stephen said. “We are doing so right now, as is the Fundraising Standards Board. Yes, we should highlight the importance of charities’ work being done professionally. But to call the recent news reports ‘a crisis for the charity sector which is testing the strength and capacity of self-regulation’? That is not true. And it merely makes another lurid headline.”

In his speech Shawcross also reiterated his view that as long as the commission is reliant on the state for all of its funding it faces risks of further cuts to its already tight budget. Shawcross again floated the possibility of the commission looking to the sector for some or all of its funding, a suggestion met coolly by Sir Stephen.

“I am not certain that a compulsory charge is really in the best interests of a free and fair society, especially when there are questions about the quality of that regulator’s contribution to the national debate. Even beyond this, I remain sceptical. In a recent Acevo survey, 75 per cent of our membership were against charging for regulation.”

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