Former chief executive of Captain Tom Foundation ‘gobsmacked’ by ‘self-interested’ Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore

THE erstwhile main enforcement of the Captain Tom Foundation has revealed helium was near "gobsmacked" aft discovering the information astir the charity.

Jack Gilbert says helium was shocked by the "self-interest" shown by Captain Tom's girl Hannah Ingram-Moore and her spouse Colin successful the years aft the heroic British Army officer's death.

Mr Gilbert said erstwhile helium archetypal looked into the instauration helium uncovered what helium described arsenic a fig of questionable practices.

It comes aft Hannah, 54, and hubby Colin, 67, were blasted by a report for pocketing a luck connected the backmost of Tom’s inspirational NHS fundraising.

A Charity Commission study recovered the household plunder Captain Tom's representation for their ain payment - pocketing a £1.5million publication beforehand past giving nary to his charity.

The study revealed that Ingram-Moore, blocked from paying herself a £150,000 wage arsenic foundation CEO - took £85,000 and reimbursed her steadfast with £80,000 successful costs from the foundation.

The mates hoodwinked the public by promising royalties to the foundation from its merchandise website.

Mr Gilbert took implicit arsenic main enforcement for the Captain Tom Foundation from Mrs Ingram-Moore.

He ran it for conscionable 5 months earlier it was clouded successful contention with the foundation committee investigation.

The experienced foundation nonrecreational has spoken retired for the archetypal clip since the study came retired and says helium was amazed by however poorly it had been acceptable up.

He told BBC News: "When I came in, I indispensable admit, I was gobsmacked.

"I was shocked astatine the fig of systems that conscionable did not accord with champion practice.

"One of my archetypal exercises was, of course, to get trusted foundation presumption for the foundation, which meant going done a full scope of antithetic hurdles.

"And the information was that though we had done galore of them, determination were tons of cardinal practices that simply were not successful place."

One of the biggest issues was that absorption accounts had not been acceptable up successful the close format for a charity, helium said.

A cancelled invoice to Virgin Media was 1 of the archetypal large issues Mr Gilbert highlighted.

In the Charity Commission study they recovered that Ingram-Moore was paid £18,000 for an quality astatine the Virgin Media O2 Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards.

The quality was described arsenic being successful a idiosyncratic capableness and successful her ain clip but the committee argued this was false.

They claimed the instauration received conscionable £2,000 of the down outgo connected her appearance.

Incredibly, the Ingram-Moore's whinged they had been treated "unfairly and unjustly" by the Charity Commission, accusing the watchdog of “selective storytelling”.

Adding that determination had been nary misappropriation of funds from the foundation astatine immoderate point.

Mr Gilbert made it wide that if specified an enactment had taken spot past it would person been "deeply unethical".

In wide helium said it felt arsenic if determination was a "level of self-interest" surrounding the foundation.

Mr Gilbert soon noted a fig of different discrepancies helium was arsenic suspicious earlier reporting them each to the board.

He described the instauration arsenic a "lost opportunity" to code the precise existent contented of ageism successful Britain.

Charity Commission report

A Charity Commission study recovered the Ingram-Moore's plundered the warfare seasoned Tom's representation for their ain profit.

The 30-page booklet, published connected Thursday aft a two-year inquiry, recovered the Ingram-Moores carried retired repeated instances of misconduct.

It is understood overmuch of the funds raised were enactment into an amerciable luxury spa successful their plot utilizing the foundation's name.

The artifact was demolished earlier this twelvemonth aft the household mislaid an entreaty against Central Bedfordshire Council's bid for it to beryllium torn down.

And they gave the foundation conscionable £8,900 from a Capt Tom gin contempt profits thought to beryllium good implicit £100,000.

Another immense country of contention came from a £1.5million publication deal.

Publishers Penguin reportedly agreed to wage a the hefty beforehand to the Ingram-Moores’ backstage institution for Capt Tom’s memoir.

It was done connected the knowing that a publication would beryllium made to his foundation - but conscionable £17,000 successful royalties went to the charity.

Last year, a caught retired Mrs Ingram-Moore wept arsenic she told Piers Morgan she and her hubby pocketed £800,000 from publication sales.

Penguin said: “We are highly disappointed.”

As the Captain Tom Foundation asked for the currency backmost “immediately and without the request for further action”.

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

He added 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".