Conservative energy and climate change minister Matthew Hancock has accepted £18,000 in donations from climate sceptic Neil Record it has been revealed today by the Guardian.

Neil Record, a City currency manager and trustee of the free market Institute of Economic Affairs, was exposed by DeSmog UK last September as a key backer of Nigel Lawson’s climate denial lobby group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation.

Record has separately given more than £300,000 to the Conservative party but, according to the Electoral Commission, Hancock (pictured) is the only individual MP he has backed.

When DeSmog UK asked Record how much he gave to Lawson’s charity, he replied this was “a private matter on which I am not prepared to comment further.” DeSmog UK estimates the donations to be higher than £100,000.

The link between Hancock and Record was uncovered by a member of Greenpeace. John Sauven, the NGO’s director, said this further undermines the government’s record on climate change.

Speaking to the Guardian, Sauven said: “It says something that we have an energy and climate change minister who hates wind, loves fracking, and accepts large sums of cash from a central figure in a climate sceptic lobby group.”

Earlier this month, Hancock came under heavy criticism for chartering a private aircraft from Aberdeen to London despite there being numerous scheduled services that day. Campaigners argued that it undermined Britain’s stance on tackling climate change.

Commenting on today’s revelation, Caroline Flint, Labour’s shadow energy and climate change secretary, said it showed “why the Tories can’t tackle climate change and have zero credibility on this issue.”

Read more about Record’s donations to Hancock on the Guardian website.

Photo: The Independent via Creative Commons