11 October 2023 , 21:27
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Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter has tearfully admitted to keeping £800,000 from the sales of his father's books she insists she was entitled to.
The Covid NHS fundraiser’s family have been grilled by Piers Morgan - in explosive scenes set to air tonight - following the backlash they received after building a spa on their property.
The late 100-year-old's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, her husband Colin Ingram and their children Benji and Georgia sat down with host Piers to explain their actions in a one-hour TalkTV special. Captain Tom became a national hero when he began raising money for the NHS during lockdown by walking laps of his garden.
However, since his death in February 2021, the family have been plagued by controversy and the financial activities of the Captain Tom Foundation charity have come under scrutiny, with the Charity Commission announcing a review in February 2022.
In tears, Hannah admits she kept money raised from three books her inspirational father had written. She explains he wanted his family to keep the money from the books in Club Nook Ltd rather than the Captain Tom Foundation charity.
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She says: "These were my father’s books, and it was honestly such a joy for him to write them, but they were his books. He had an agent and they worked on that deal, and his wishes were that that money would sit in Club Nook, and in the end . . . ”
"For you to keep?" Piers interjects as she clarifies: "Yes. Specifically." The family tell Piers that they believed that anyone buying the books had no reason to think they were donating to charity. But, the prologue to Tom's autobiography Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day, appears to suggest it was raising money for the Captain Tom Foundation.
Captain Tom raised around £38m for NHS Charities Together (Getty Images)Published in September 2020, it read: "Astonishingly at my age, with the offer to write this memoir I have also been given the chance to raise even more money for the charitable foundation now established in my name."
During the family's interview with Piers, the TalkTV host is shown the spa building that sparked outrage after it was revealed they had used the Captain Tom Foundation’s name in the planning application. In a clip released on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday's interview, the family open up on the death threats they have received.
Hannah reveals: “There is a forum… they were all discussing how they were going to come and kill us all," while her husband added: “We should have done it in a different way.” Speaking about the spa, Piers asks: "Why are you reluctant to get rid of it?", adding: "I've asked this a few times now... I'll give you one last chance."
Grilling the family on their financial affairs, Piers questions: “Neither of you have ever made any money directly from the Foundation for personal gain?” To which Colin replies: "Not a penny."
In 2021 and 2022, Hannah helped judge the Virgin Media O2 Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards, which included the name of the charity and the charity's logo on its awards plaques. The daughter of the 100-year-old fundraiser sparked further controversy when it emerged her fee was paid not to the Foundation but to her family company. Piers asks how much the fee was, to which she replied: “I was paid £18,000 for that." The host asks how much did the charity receive, and Hannah replies: "£2,000."
Addressing how the fallout has left her feeling, she explains: “Utterly devastating.” And her husband echoes: “She has been extremely ill… we all have.” Benji, her son, concludes: “There’s been genuine times where I don’t think she’s known if she could go on," before Piers if she has even felt like ending it all.
For the full interview watch Thursday night’s Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV at 8pm, or on YouTube or the TalkTV app.