Captain Sir Tom Moore’s family gained ‘significant personal benefit’ from their links to a charity set up in his name, a damning report has found.
The record-breaking fundraiser’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, and her husband, Colin, made ‘repeated failures’ at the helm of the foundation, according to the Charity Commission.
A 30-page investigation document published yesterday after a two-year inquiry has set out the findings in detail.
The release follows the Ingram-Moores being disqualified from serving as charity trustees by the regulator in July.
The watchdog’s CEO David Holdsworth cited ‘repeated instances of a blurring of boundaries between private and charitable interests’, with the couple ‘receiving significant personal benefit.’
Among the findings were that the couple failed to separate their personal interests from Captain Tom’s autobiography and an application for a spa pool block at their former home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
A £1.4 million book advance and an £18,000 awards ceremony appearance fee were among the deals where the links between the Ingram-Moores and the Captain Tom Foundation were unclear, according to the commission.
Five key findings:
- The public ‘would understandably feel misled’ to learn that sales of Captain Tom’s autobiography ‘Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day’ have not benefited the charity, given that statements were made which implied donations from sales would be made to the charity carrying his name, the watchdog found. The couple’s company, Club Nook, was to be paid a £1.5 million advance in a book publishing deal, according to a redacted document provided to the commission by Penguin Books. This was reduced to £1,466,667 after the cancellation of a planned fourth book. However the commission said that ‘to date the charity has not received any money from the first publishing agreement’.
- Mrs Ingram-Moore might have been technically accurate to state that she was ‘not offered’ a ‘six-figure salary’, as the commission blocked the initial salary request, and no formal offer was made to her prior to the regulator’s authorisation of a lower salary. However, the inquiry found these assertions were ‘disingenuous’, as it saw written evidence that she had stated, prior to starting in the role, that her expectations were for a £150,000 remuneration package.
- Mrs Ingram-Moore retained £18,000 for judging and presenting an award named after Captain Tom. While she claims she undertook the engagement in a personal capacity, the inquiry found no evidence to support her position. Mrs Ingram-Moore committed the charity’s resources to the event without the non-conflicted trustees’ knowledge or consent, the watchdog found. The report states that the charity received a £2,000 donation, separate to her fee.
- Intellectual property owned by the Ingram-Moores was offered to the charity without appropriate agreements, which led to confusion and possible financial losses to the charity, according to the regulator
- The Ingram-Moores’ use of the charity’s name in an original planning application for a building constructed on their private land implied the building would be used by the charity. They did not inform or seek consent from the unconflicted trustees before using the charity’s name for this purpose, the report states. The building was subsequently demolished by order of the local authority. The inquiry found that the couple used the charity’s name inappropriately for private benefit, and that this amounted to misconduct and/or mismanagement.
The Captain Tom Foundation was set up to spread the generosity shown by the Second World War veteran among a wide range of good causes.
Captain Tom raised £38.9 million for NHS Charities Together, a separate charity, by walking 100 laps of his garden for his 100th birthday at the height of the Covid lockdown in 2020.
Fundraisers organised by the foundation included the ‘Captain Tom 100’, marking what would have been his 101st birthday in April 2021.
The commission’s investigation began 14 months later, with the regulator scrutinising issues including potential conflicts with businesses owned by Mrs Ingram-Moore and her husband, Colin.
Releasing the report, Mr Holdsworth said: ‘Captain Sir Tom inspired a nation and reminded us what service to others can achieve even in the most challenging of times.
‘His determined fundraising efforts, and the incredibly generous public response, brought a smile and hope to many of us during the pandemic.
‘We should remember his achievements and how grateful NHS Charities Together is for the £39 million he raised for the causes they support.
‘Sadly, however, the charity set up in his name has not lived up to that legacy of others before self, which is central to charity. Our inquiry report details repeated failures of governance and integrity.’
Mr Holdsworth said the public and law expect charities to make an ‘unambiguous distinction’ between their personal interests and those of the causes they support.
He added: ‘This did not happen in the case of The Captain Tom Foundation. We found repeated instances of a blurring of boundaries between private and charitable interests, with Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore receiving significant personal benefit.
‘Together the failings amount to misconduct and/or mismanagement.
‘The Commission conducts all its investigations in a fair, balanced and independent way, led by the law and the facts alone.
‘Where those investigations find that individuals have misused the trust that people have in charities, it is right that we take firm action to hold them to account.’
In a previous statement reacting to their disqualification as trustees, the Ingram-Moores said they ‘fundamentally disagree’ with the decision and spoke of the ‘profound emotional upheaval and financial burden’ which prevented them from launching an appeal.
In relation to the links between the Ingram-Moores’ businesses and the foundation, Ms Ingram-Moore has previously admitted that ‘we’ve been incredibly naive’ but insisted the family are ‘wholesome, good people and we run businesses we understand’.
On her website, she has said that the foundation was set up by independent trustees, not the family, in May 2020.
The Ingram-Moores described the investigation as ‘a harrowing and debilitating ordeal that has gone on for over two years.’
The foundation said in its 2022 accounts that it had closed all payment channels while the statutory inquiry remains open and on its website states that it is ‘not presently actively seeking any funding from donors.’
The Ingram-Moores’ legal team has since indicated that the charity will close once the inquiry has concluded.
Metro has contacted the couple for comment.
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