Captain Tom's family had 'significant' financial benefit from charity set up in his name

The household of renowned pandemic fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore gained "significant" fiscal payment from links to a foundation acceptable up successful his name, a watchdog study has found.

The Charity Commission concluded determination had been repeated instances of misconduct by the veteran's daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband, Colin.

They person already been banned from being foundation trustees, but a 30-page study published connected Thursday, aft a two-year inquiry, acceptable retired their failings successful detail.

These include:

• "Disingenuous" statements from Mrs Ingram-Moore astir not being offered a six-figure sum to go the charity's main executive. While she whitethorn not person been offered this, the committee said it had seen written grounds that she had acceptable retired expectations for a £150,000 remuneration bundle earlier taking connected the role.
• A misleading accusation that donations from publication income would beryllium made to the foundation. The committee said the nationalist "would understandably consciousness misled" to larn that income of his autobiography, Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day, did not payment the charity. An beforehand of astir £1.5 cardinal was paid to Club Nook, a institution of which the Ingram-Moores are directors, for a three-book deal.
• A assertion by Mrs Ingram-Moore that an quality astatine an awards ceremonial for which she was paid £18,000 was undertaken successful a idiosyncratic capacity. The committee disagreed, saying determination was nary grounds to enactment this. While she received £18,000, conscionable £2,000, abstracted from that sum, was donated to the charity.
• Use of the foundation's sanction successful an archetypal readying exertion for a spa excavation artifact astatine their home, thing the mates said had been an mistake portion they were some "busy undertaking 'global media work"'. The artifact was demolished earlier this year, aft the household mislaid an entreaty against Central Bedfordshire Council's bid for it to beryllium torn down.
• Confusion implicit handling of intelligence spot rights, which the committee said were owned by the household but offered to the instauration to usage without due agreements successful place, starring to imaginable fiscal losses to the charity.

The Charity Commission opened a lawsuit into the instauration successful March 2021, escalating it to go a statutory enquiry successful June 2022, amid concerns astir the charity's absorption and independency from Sir Tom's family.

In July, the Ingram-Moores released a connection saying they had been banned from being foundation trustees, and describing the commission's probe arsenic a "harrowing and debilitating ordeal".

The orders against some - meaning Mrs Ingram-Moore cannot beryllium a trustee oregon clasp a elder absorption relation successful immoderate foundation successful England and Wales for 10 years, nor Mr Ingram-Moore for 8 years - were issued successful May and came into effect connected June 25.

But the watchdog's main enforcement said its study had recovered "repeated failures of governance and integrity", and that its enquiry had been fair, balanced and independent.

David Holdsworth, committee main executive, said the instauration acceptable up successful Sir Tom's sanction "has not lived up to that bequest of others earlier self, which is cardinal to charity".

He added: "The public, and the law, rightly expect those progressive successful charities to marque an unambiguous favoritism betwixt their idiosyncratic interests and those of the foundation and the beneficiaries they are determination to serve.

"This did not hap successful the lawsuit of The Captain Tom Foundation. We recovered repeated instances of a blurring of boundaries betwixt backstage and charitable interests, with Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore receiving important idiosyncratic benefit. Together the failings magnitude to misconduct and/or mismanagement."

The committee has not called connected the instauration to close, but a lawyer for the household has antecedently indicated the foundation mightiness unopen down.

The instauration stopped taking donations successful summertime 2023.

The millions raised by the precocious Sir Tom and donated to NHS Charities Together earlier the instauration was formed were not portion of the commission's inquiry.

The Ingram-Moores and the instauration person been contacted for comment.

When her fundraising begetter Captain Sir Tom Moore deed the headlines for his pandemic efforts, his girl Hannah Ingram-Moore was ne'er acold from the spotlight.

But earlier that, she was "one of Britain's starring concern women", according to her authoritative website.

She is besides described arsenic a beingness manager and motivational speaker, with the tract saying she has gained a "wealth of cognition and expertise" from moving implicit the years with well-known brands including covering retailer Gap and high-end section store Fortnum & Mason.

Her communicative has been "one of business, household and leadership", the website stated.

When Sir Tom soared to prominence arsenic Covid-19 dispersed crossed the globe, Mrs Ingram-Moore - 1 of the veteran's 2 daughters - often gave interviews and appeared successful photographs and video footage taken by the media arsenic her father's charitable efforts captured the imaginativeness of a locked-down UK.

She spoke of the "richness of surviving successful a multi-generational household", having asked her aged begetter to determination successful with her household successful their spot successful Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire - connected the tract of which helium completed his 100 laps, raising £38.9 cardinal for the NHS.

Alongside her chartered accountant husband, Colin, Mrs Ingram-Moore co-founded concern recruitment bureau Maytrix and some are co-directors of backstage constricted institution Club Nook.

Mrs Ingram-Moore accompanied her begetter to the regal surrounds of Windsor Castle successful the summertime of 2020 to spot him knighted, and took a spot successful the Royal Box astatine Wimbledon months aft Sir Tom's decease successful 2021 wherever she stood to applause and cheers.

But conscionable 3 years aboriginal she and her hubby had been banned by the Charity Commission from being foundation trustees.

Mrs Ingram-Moore described the commission's enquiry arsenic a "harrowing and debilitating ordeal" which had near the household feeling suspended successful "constant fearfulness and intelligence anguish".

A punctuation connected her website, attributed to Mrs Ingram-Moore, described however she feels a "weight of work for doing the close thing, for not letting radical down and responding to the emotion and compassion that has travel our way".