The family of NHS charity fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore has personally benefited from the charity set up in his name through a series of lucrative deals worth more than £1 million. , the charities watchdog ruled in a highly critical report.
Charity Commission investigation concludes late Captain Tom's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin Ingram-Moore are guilty of “serious and repeated” misconduct, mismanagement and failures of integrity. Ta.
Ingram Moore and his wife, who founded the Captain Tom Foundation in 2020 to support good causes, repeatedly blurred their personal interests with those of the charity while reaping “significant” personal benefits, an investigation has found. It turns out.
Despite the Ingram-Moores' initial claims that they had no involvement in the Foundation, the Ingram-Moores exercised a high level of control over the Foundation, aided by weak oversight by the board, which was often kept secret by the family. An investigation found that force had been used.
The report specifically criticizes the £1.5m three-book deal Hannah Ingram-Moore signed on behalf of Captain Tom in May 2020. Enriching families, which promotional materials suggested would benefit charities, but turned out to be almost purely commercial deals.
The investigation was told that the Ingram-Moores had promised to donate money to charity from their book contract, but they never did. They were given the opportunity to donate the proceeds of the book deal by the committee in November 2022, but they declined.
Other findings include:
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Hannah Ingram-Moore has “begun the process of securing her appointment as chief executive” of the charity, suggesting she should be paid a salary of £150,000. The charity offered to pay her £100,000, but this was blocked by the committee and she was eventually hired for £85,000.
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Hannah Ingram-Moore received £18,000 from Virgin Media for being a judge on the Local Legends Awards in September 2021, when she was the foundation's chief executive. This was unauthorized, a conflict of interest, and there was no evidence that it was done in a personal capacity, as she claimed.
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Mr and Mrs Ingram Moore inappropriately and for personal gain used the name of a charity in a planning application to build a private spa pool on the grounds of their family home. The building was then demolished.
Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth said Captain Tom was an “inspiration to the nation and reminded us of what service to others can achieve”. , said the charity established in his name was unable to live up to that legacy.
“The public, and the law, expect those involved in charity work to clearly distinguish between their personal interests and the interests of the charity and its beneficiaries. Captain Tom This did not happen with the Foundation,” he said.
The report is the result of a two-year investigation, which began in April when Captain Tom, then 99, walked 100 laps around his garden in a bid to raise £1,000 for charity during the pandemic. It marks an unsophisticated end to the story. 2020. His initiative attracted public attention and became a global phenomenon, raising £39 million for NHS charities.
In July 2024, Hannah Ingram-Moore and Colin Ingram-Moore were disqualified as directors by the Commission and banned from holding senior management positions at charities for 10 years and 8 years respectively. revealed that it had been done. They said the disqualification order had not “misappropriated or fraudulently received the charity's funds” and had never accessed or made payments from the charity's bank account. He claimed that it was clear.
The Captain Tom Foundation was launched in June 2020 following his NHS Charity fundraiser, with the aim of using his name to raise funds to give grants to good causes such as hospices and mental health charities. Founded by family.
In a registration application to the Charity Commission at the time, the family acknowledged that the foundation was completely independent from them and that “there are no plans for the family to benefit from the foundation.”
However, the investigation report shows that even while applying for charity registration, the family is working with Club Nook to trademark 'Captain Tom' and control Captain Tom's intellectual property and commercial interests. It was revealed that a private company and a private family trust have been established.
According to the report, the family's charitable registration application did not disclose the foundation's close ties to Club Nook or its reliance on Goodwill to use Captain Tom's name. It turned out to be misleading.
The family's influence over the charity through Club Nook is such that a charity's trustees can, for example, sell mugs with the charity's name printed on them in order to raise funds for the charity. So much so that it was impossible to confirm whether the person would be allowed to do so without asking the person in advance.'' Club Nook permission. ”
In a statement, the Ingram-Moores accused the commission of “selective storytelling” and said they felt they had been treated “unfairly and unjustly.”
“A trusted regulatory body will provide the full truth, rather than misrepresenting or confusing facts and timelines to align with a predetermined agenda,” they said. “True accountability requires transparency, not selective storytelling.”
It added that the investigation had “caused serious damage to the mental and physical health of our family, unfairly tarnished our name and affected our ability to carry on Captain Sir Tom's legacy.” .
The Captain Tom Foundation still exists, but stopped accepting donations in 2023. Over two years, £1.5 million was raised, of which £370,000 was distributed as grants. Captain Tom passed away in February 2021 at the age of 100.
A spokeswoman for the foundation said: “We are satisfied with the Charity Commission's clear findings of misconduct by Mr and Mrs Ingram Moore.”
The charity said: “We are pleading with Mr and Mrs Ingram Moore to rectify the matter by returning the funds paid to the Foundation so that they can be donated to a suitable charity in line with the wishes of the late Captain Tom Moore.” added the spokesperson.
