How 'disingenuous' Captain Tom charity was caught in 'repeated failures' from spa row to missing £16k

Captain Sir Tom Moore’s girl and her hubby are accused of “repeated” misconduct successful a study by the Charity Commission astir the moving of the Captain Tom Foundation.

The 30-page papers acknowledges that the foundation, acceptable up successful the warfare veteran’s name, was created during the Covid-19 pandemic – “a play of planetary turmoil”. It added: “However, the Commission has concluded that Mr (Colin) and Mrs (Hannah) Ingram-Moore’s misconduct and/or mismanagement was not an isolated incidental but a repeated signifier of behaviour which continued past the worst of the pandemic.”.

In effect to the study a spokesperson for the Captain Tom Foundation said: "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."

The Ingram-Moores said they felt "unfairly and unjustly" treated and accused 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 said 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".

April 2020: Captain Tom books

The Ingram-Moores’ company, Club Nook, was to beryllium paid an beforehand totalling £1.5 cardinal successful a publication publishing deal, according to a redacted papers provided to the Charity Commission by Penguin Books. This was reduced to £1,466,667 aft the cancellation of a planned 4th book.

However, the Commission said that “to day the foundation has not received immoderate wealth from the archetypal publishing agreement”. The study said that the backstage constricted institution Club Nook Limited was incorporated successful April 2020, with Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore arsenic institution directors who, successful summation to their 2 children, clasp shares successful the company.

Literary cause Bev James, who represented Captain Tom , told the enquiry that her “understanding” was that the Ingram-Moores “were precise wide that they did not privation the wealth from the books to spell to charity, but they would marque a donation erstwhile the CaptainTom Foundation was acceptable up”.

The study said it “appears that Captain Tom himself believed oregon intended that (his book) Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day would successful immoderate mode financially enactment the charity”. It references the book’s prologue, which is attributed to Captain Tom , and 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.”

The report’s authors say: “The enquiry cannot spot however the archetypal condemnation successful the supra punctuation from CaptainTom tin beryllium interpreted arsenic thing different than funds provided to Captain Tom for penning his memoir would travel to the foundation to proceed his charitable work.”

They continued: “The enquiry formally wrote to Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore connected 4 October 2022 and 23 November 2022 mounting retired the accusation it had gathered, to supply them with an accidental to rectify matters by making a donation to the foundation successful enactment with their archetypal intentions arsenic understood by those involved. On some occasions they declined to bash so.”

The Charity Commission “concluded that the nationalist had a tenable anticipation that the CaptainTom books they purchased, successful peculiar Captain Tom’s autobiography Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day, would person financially benefited the foundation and the nationalist would understandably consciousness misled fixed nary donation has been made to the charity.”

“The Ingram-Moores’ nonaccomplishment to honour the donation to the foundation pursuing the archetypal publishing agreement, and the misconduct and/or mismanagement arsenic evidenced successful this report, has earnestly damaged the estimation of the charity,” it continued.

2021: Payment for Virgin Media awards

Captain Tom acted arsenic a justice for the Virgin Media Local Legends Awards betwixt 2020 and 2021, for which helium was personally paid £10,000. Mrs Ingram-Moore acted arsenic his substitute during this campaign, and this statement was agreed successful beforehand of Mrs Ingram-Moore being a trustee oregon taking up her employment astatine the charity.

At astir the clip the Local Legends Awards concluded, Mrs Ingram-Moore was approached to go a justice for the pursuing year’s awards, according to the report. It said that successful September 2021, portion employed by the foundation arsenic its interim main executive, she entered into an ambassador services statement with Virgin Media for the judging and presenting of the Virgin Media CaptainTom Foundation Connector Awards.

As a effect of the ambassador agreement, Mrs Ingram-Moore was personally paid £18,000, and successful summation Virgin Media donated £2,000 to the charity, the study said. The study added that “the enquiry does not hold with Mrs Ingram-Moore’s assertion that this was thing that she undertook successful her idiosyncratic capableness – determination is nary grounds to suggest that this enactment was done extracurricular her contracted enactment hours, oregon that yearly permission was booked to undertake the role”.

It noted that successful Mrs Ingram-Moore’s signed employment contract, dated August 31, 2021, “there is nary clause relating to conflicts of interest”.

“In the covering email of the aforesaid day to (charity trustee) Mr (Stephen) Jones with the signed declaration attached, Mrs Ingram-Moore states: ‘I person signed the declaration but removed the conflicts of involvement clause arsenic this is not a ineligible request and fixed my responsibilities is excessively restrictive. It is simply a fixed that I volition not beryllium doing thing to struggle with each my roles but I cannot beryllium successful a presumption that I person to petition authorization astatine each turn, my beingness would grind to a halt, I americium definite you understand.’”

The study continues: “One period aft signing her employment declaration and having purposely taken retired the conflicts of involvement clause, Mrs Ingram-Moore signed the ambassador statement from which she benefited significantly.”

February 2022 - February 2024: Spa gathering row

The Ingram-Moores utilized the sanction of the foundation successful an archetypal readying exertion for a Captain Tom Foundation gathering successful the grounds of their home. The Charity Commission said section assembly documents amusement decision-makers gave “significant weight… to the information that the foundation was to usage the projected gathering for its charitable purposes”.

A revised readying application, which added a spa excavation facility, did not diagnostic the connection “charity” oregon “foundation”, was refused support and a demolition announcement was issued. The gathering was levelled successful February this year. Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore said the inclusion of the charity’s sanction successful the archetypal readying exertion was an “error, though they did person the volition to usage the gathering for charitable purposes”, according to the report.

“The enquiry was told that this oversight was arsenic a effect of the information that they were some engaged undertaking ‘global media work’ which meant that their attraction was connected the substance of the exertion ‘rather than insignificant errors successful the plan and entree connection prepared by a readying advisor acting connected their behalf’,” it continued. “It is the presumption of the enquiry that Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore’s actions successful utilizing the charity’s sanction successful a readying exertion connected their ain spot would person accrued the prospects of that exertion being successful.

“A nonaccomplishment to consult the afloat committee of trustees and question their authorisation besides suggests that Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore were utilizing the foundation and its sanction inappropriately for their backstage benefit.”

It said that property sum of the demolition “negatively affected the charity” and this “could person been mitigated if the determination to nexus the foundation to this readying exertion had been decently considered and authorised by the unconflicted trustees”.