Charity lawyer slams Captain Tom's charity for 'damaging' his reputation

13 November 2023 , 11:43

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Captain Sir Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore (Image: Getty Images)

A charity lawyer has slammed Captain Sir Tom Moore’s Foundation for “damaging” the war hero’s brand after a council ordered his daughter to tear down her £200,000 spa complex.

Sir Captain Tom Moore became known to the nation during lockdown, when he began walking laps of his garden to raise money for the NHS. His efforts went more than viral in the run up to his 100th birthday as he raised £39million for NHS Charities Together in 2020.

However, after his selfless work, his charity, also founded in 2020, which was headed up by his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, has repeatedly come under fire. Previously, she claimed on her website to have received an award only Captain Tom was granted. Most recently, there was criticism over her illegal building of a pool spa complex in her garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire. The council ordered that it be torn down, after rejecting her retrospective planning permission application.

Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore (PA)

Now, a Channel 5 documentary ‘Captain Tom: Where did the Money Go?’, which will air tonight at 9pm, examines how much of the money donated by the British public was spent. This includes funds from the sales of Captain Tom's three books: Captain Tom's Life Lessons, One Hundred Steps and his autobiography Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day.

Liz Brownsell, partner and head of charities for Birketts, has pointed out that in his autobiography there are repeated claims the proceeds will go to The Captain Tom Foundation. However, Mrs Ingram-Moore admitted to keeping the £800,000 from the three books - claiming this was at the request of her dad.

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Charity lawyer Liz Brownsell of Birketts (Brentwood Gazette)

The Mail Online reported that Ms Brownsell said: “Captain Sir Tom Moore will always be somebody who is very much loved, and is seen as the nation's grandfather. It's really sad that the brand itself has been damaged. So when you look on the foundation website it says ‘His autobiography and a children's book’ will support his newly formed charity The Captain Tom Foundation.”

She also pointed to the prologue of his autobiography, which reads: “Astonishingly at my age, with the offer to write this memoir I've also been given the chance to raise even more money for the charitable foundation now established in my name.” This, Ms Brownsell said, was “the problem”.

A view of the home of Hannah Ingram-Moore at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, where she built an illegal pool-spa complex that the council ordered was torn down (PA)

In an interview with TalkTV’s Piers Morgan last month, Ms Ingram-Moore confessed to pocketing the money from the books, and claimed it was always meant for her. She said: “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 …”

At that point, Piers Morgan asks: “For you to keep?” to which she said “yes”. During the interview, she was also asked about the £18,000 she made as a judge at an awards ceremony. Whilst the ceremony featured the charity’s name, only £2,000 of the fee was donated to the organisation.

Kieren Williams