FILE: UK charity watchdog critcises family of Captain Tom over fundraiser's foundation

Record ID: 1857216

  • Title: FILE: UK charity watchdog critcises family of Captain Tom over fundraiser's foundation
  • Date: 21st November 2024
  • Summary: BUSES GOING PAST BILLBOARD
  • Embargoed: 5th December 2024 00:01
  • Keywords: Captain Tom Moore Covid-19 Queen Elizabeth UK's charity watchdog charity pandemic
  • Location: VARIOUS, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: VARIOUS, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: UK
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe
  • Reuters ID: LVA006126020112024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The family of record-breaking British fundraiser Captain Tom Moore committed repeated serious misconduct in their running of a foundation set up in his honour, using its work to benefit themselves, the charity watchdog said on Thursday (November 21).
    World War Two veteran Moore became a national hero in Britain and made headlines globally after raising 38.9 million pounds ($50 million) for the National Health Service by walking around his garden with the help of a frame in April 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
    His efforts saw him knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth, and such was his fame that his 100th birthday was marked by a message from the then British prime minister and a military plane flypast above his home.
    He also became the oldest person to reach number one in Britain's main music singles chart before he died aged 100 in February 2021 after contracting COVID himself.
    Whilst the initial millions raised by Moore were donated to a separate charity, the Charity Commission opened an inquiry last year into concerns about the management of the Captain Tom Moore Foundation.
    Its highly-critical report concluded on Thursday that his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin had repeatedly used their involvement in the charity for their own advantage, failing to act in its best interests or to manage any conflicts of interest.
    "We found repeated instances of a blurring of boundaries between private and charitable interests, with Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore receiving significant personal benefit," Charity Commission head David Holdsworth said.
    The most high-profile incident was their attempt to build a spa on their property which they had originally described in a planning application as a "Captain Tom Foundation Building".
    The watchdog said the charity's other trustees had no knowledge of the plans and the couple were not authorised to use its name, saying it amounted to misconduct. The local council later ordered the building was demolished.
    The commission also said the public "would understandably feel misled" the charity had received no money from the sales of the fundraiser's autobiography despite Moore himself apparently believing that it would, and press statements at the time implying donations would be made.
    The autobiography was one of three titles by Moore for which Penguin Books paid an advance of almost 1.5 million pounds to a private company for which the Ingram-Moores were directors, the report said.
    In July, the watchdog disqualified the couple, who could not be reached for comment, both from being charity trustees or holding any senior positions in a charity.
    (Production: Michael Holden, Amy Pollock)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains photographs or artwork. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing this clip.
Register