Captain Tom's daughter's illegal luxury spa humiliation from demolition shame to 'swingers' jibe

Captain Tom emerged arsenic a awesome of anticipation during the acheronian days of lockdown - but his daughter's shocking antics person since threatened to overshadow his determined foundation work.

The British Army veteran, who died successful February 2021 astatine the property of 100, began walking lengths of his plot successful the outpouring of 2020 with the purpose of raising £1,000 for NHS Charities Together by his 100th birthday. He ended up raising astir £39 cardinal and received a BBC Sports Personality of the Year grant and adjacent knighthood for his efforts.

All the while, Captain Tom's daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, stuck by his broadside during interviews, often speaking of the "richness of surviving successful a multi-generational household". A palmy businesswoman, Ingram-Moore had invited her aged begetter to unrecorded with her household successful Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, and was determination looking proudly connected erstwhile helium was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II astatine Windsor Castle.

Following Captain Tom's passing, Ingram-Moore and her chartered accountant hubby Colin vowed to proceed her father's bequest and, successful August 2021, they were granted support to physique a Captain Tom Foundation Building to location the pandemic hero’s memorabilia.

However, though the mates utilized the foundation’s sanction connected their archetypal acceptable of plans, this was not utilized connected a retrospective exertion for a larger £200,000 gathering implicit with a luxury spa pool. It was past that things started to unravel for the once-respected family, who antecedently received a lukewarm reception successful the Royal Box astatine Wimbledon successful 2021 arsenic they grieved Captain Tom's passing.

Just 3 years later, however, Ingram-Moore and Colin person been barred from serving arsenic foundation trustees by the Charity Commission, with a scathing caller study uncovering that Ingram-Moore pocketed much than £1million successful her celebrated father's name...

Furious petition

The Charity Commission launched an enquiry into the instauration successful June 2022 aft concerns were raised astir the absorption of the Captain Tom Foundation, with then-interim main enforcement serviceman Ingram-Moore earning a gross wage of £63,750 for the nine-month play from August 2021 to April 2022.

In November of that aforesaid year, the assembly refused the retrospective readying support for the revised spa plans, portion indignant section residents signed a petition for the operation to beryllium ripped down, blasting it arsenic "ugly, featureless, overbearing, oversized and wholly retired of character".

In November 2023, contempt the family's objections, it was ruled that the unauthorised building, located astatine the Ingram-Moores' Bedfordshire home, beryllium demolished wrong 3 months, aft it was determined that the retrospecive exertion had present featured the connection “charity” oregon “foundation”. In their application, the Ingram-Moores had claimed the gathering would beryllium partially utilized "in transportation with The Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives".

The committee has besides criticised the mates for utilizing the foundation’s sanction successful their readying application, which Ingram-Moore and her hubby claimed had been an error. They blamed this alleged oversight connected being engaged “undertaking planetary media work”.

In this caller report, it said planners had fixed “significant weight... to the information that the foundation was to usage the projected gathering for its charitable purposes,” portion grounds would suggest the mates were successful information "using the foundation and its sanction inappropriately for their backstage benefit”.

Piers Morgan revelations

In October 2023, Ingram-Moore confessed to pocketing wealth from the funds raised during an explosive interrogation with Piers Morgan connected TalkTV. Revealing they'd kept £800,000 from the 3 books penned by Captain Tom, Ingram-Moore claimed her begetter had wanted them to support the profits. She insisted: "They were my father's books. He wrote them and helium decided what to bash with the income from them. It was his wishes, not ours. He made the determination astir the things that helium did."

Although the household claimed that determination was nary proposition that anyone buying the books believed the profits would spell to charity, the prologue to Sir Tom's autobiography, Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day, published successful September 2020, does look to insinuate wealth would spell towards the Captain Tom Foundation. The prologue reads: "Astonishingly astatine my age, with the connection to constitute this memoir, I person besides been fixed the accidental to rise adjacent much wealth for the charitable instauration present established successful my name."

Reflecting connected her choices, Ingram-Moore, who says her household person received decease threats aft the claims came to light, admitted: "We person to judge that we made a decision, and it was astir apt the incorrect one." During the televised interview, a photograph taken wrong the notorious spa analyzable was shown connected screen, arsenic the household continued to importune they'd done thing incorrect and had not taken funds from the foundation to physique the relaxation space.

'Swinger' jibes

Photographs shown during the Piers Morgan interview showed the wrong of the astir talked astir location spa successful caller history, and immoderate weren't precisely impressed by Ingram-Moore's decor choices.

One idiosyncratic wrote: “The placement of that sofa happening facing the jacuzzi is precise unsavoury. Like the country of a profoundly unhappy swingers' party.”

Meanwhile, different joked: “The existent transgression is the designer who designed her spa to look similar a 1970s GP surgery… I’m amazed they haven’t conscionable ruled it’s excessively disfigured to comply with readying regs.”

The C-shaped complex, referred to arsenic the 'Captain Tom Building', included a spa pool, changing rooms, toilets, and showers, arsenic good arsenic a room country for "personal use". But it was reduced to bricks earlier the household could marque usage of it.

Neighbours' glee

Ingram-Moore's neighbours rejoiced arsenic her "eyesore" spa was yet torn down backmost successful January, with Ingram-Moore seen looking glum arsenic the descend was taken out, astatine a clip of utter humiliation for the family. Photos besides amusement the excavation being lifted retired of the gutted artifact by a crane, to the delight of those who were lone excessively blessed to spot the backmost of it. After 8 days, the partially finished artifact was reduced to rubble, soon aft the day of Captain Tom's death.

Speaking astatine the time, villager Sue Martindale, 60, said: "They unrecorded successful a large house, and they thought they could get distant with it. They merit what they person got." Meanwhile, neighbour Jilly Bozdogan, 70, remarked: "The tiles are coming disconnected accelerated and furious. I americium gladsome they are yet getting connected with it. It has been a long, drawn-out saga. My plot backs onto I,t and it is an eyesore. I person had to works trees to effort to artifact it out."

Another neighbour, 68-year-old Richard Gough, recalled proceeding 1 of the workmen throwing tiles down from the roof, with the demolition coming arsenic nary large nonaccomplishment to the section community. Richard's woman Lesley, 67, added: "It was not bully for the radical who unrecorded adjacent to the building. There were trees determination earlier and a tennis court. It is simply a shame they fto it spell connected for truthful long.

"I deliberation they thought they could get distant with it. Captain Tom was truthful popular. His bequest has got lost. He did each those bully things, and radical aren't talking astir that anymore."

An unnamed woman, whose location had been overlooked by the arguable spa, expressed alleviation arsenic enactment got underway to teardrop the despised spot down. She noted: "It is simply a humiliation for Hannah. I deliberation she thought she could get distant with it. I wonderment if they volition determination erstwhile it is each over."

Agreeing that it had not been a pleasant show to enactment up with, different idiosyncratic reflected: "It is simply a shame due to the fact that of each the bully helium has done - they person tarnished it. It is not a bully look for the village."

'Mental anguish'

Now, the Charity Commission's caller study has concluded that Ingram-Moore and her hubby gained “significant” fiscal payment from foundation links established during the pandemic, with a probe of The Captain Tom Foundation uncovering “repeatedly failures of governance and integrity”.

A spokesperson for the Captain Tom Foundation stated: "The Captain Tom Foundation is pleased with the Charity Commission's unequivocal findings regarding the Ingram-Moores' misconduct. We articulation the Charity Commission successful imploring the Ingram-Moores to rectify matters by returning the funds owed to the Foundation, truthful that they tin beryllium donated to well-deserving charities arsenic intended by the precocious Captain Sir Tom Moore. We anticipation they bash truthful instantly and without the request for further action."

Meanwhile, the Ingram-Moores person shared however they person felt "unfairly and unjustly" treated, accusing the committee of "selective storytelling". They said: "A credible regulatory assemblage would supply the afloat truth, alternatively than misrepresenting and conflating facts and timelines that align with a predetermined agenda. True accountability demands transparency, not selective storytelling."

They household went connected to asseverate that the enquiry had taken a "serious toll connected our family's intelligence and carnal health, unfairly tarnishing our sanction and affecting our quality to transportation connected Captain Sir Tom's legacy".

Do you person a communicative to share? Email maine astatine julia.banim@reachplc.com