Captain Sir Tom Moore wanted family to keep money from his books, daughter says

By Lucas Cumiskey, PA

Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has said her family kept £800,000 in profits from three of his books because it was “what he wanted”.

Hannah Ingram-Moore said her fundraising father wanted them to keep the money from the books in Club Nook Ltd — a firm separate to the Captain Tom Foundation charity.

In an interview broadcast on Thursday evening, she told TalkTV’s Piers Morgan there was no suggestion that anyone buying the books thought they were donating to charity.

Sir Tom became a well-known figure when he raised £38 million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the first national Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020. He died in February 2021.

On why the book money did not go to charity, she said: “They were my father’s books. He wrote them and he decided what to do with the income from them.

“It was his wishes, not ours.

“He made the decision about the things that he did. We didn’t act for him.”

Ms Ingram-Moore said there was nothing in the books that referred to the Captain Tom Foundation, set up to celebrate legacy.

But since recording the interview, Mr Morgan said “we discovered a statement on the charity’s website and a tweet from Captain Tom’s account which does imply that the books could support the foundation. The charity is mentioned in one of the books.”

He claimed that the prologue of Captain Tom’s autobiography, Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day, also seems to suggest it was raising funds for the foundation.

Ms Ingram-Moore said the family had even received death threats.

She said: “There is a forum… they were all discussing how they were going to come and kill us all.”

Sir Tom had his knighthood conferred on him by the late Queen in July 2020 in recognition of his fundraising achievements.

Ms Ingram-Moore also told TalkTV she was paid £18,000 for attending the Virgin Media O2 Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards in 2021 — when she was already being paid as chief executive of the body.

The money was paid to her family firm, Maytrix Group, and she banked £16,000, donating £2,000 to the Captain Tom Foundation.

This summer, the foundation stopped taking money from donors after planning chiefs at Central Bedfordshire Council ordered that an unauthorised spa pool block at Ms Ingram-Moore’s home should be demolished.

The family have objected to the enforcement notice and an appeal against the order is set for a hearing this month.

Ms Ingram-Moore said she wants the new complex to be a “community building” to celebrate her father’s legacy.

But Mr Morgan said installing the spa pool was a “mistake” that “angered the public” after they submitted a planning application in the name of the foundation.

He repeatedly asked if they would get rid of the pool regardless of what the council decides, but they were non-committal.

He added: “That looks like you are giving yourselves as a family a nice little treat, but you’re using the Captain Tom Foundation umbrella to justify that.”

Ms Ingram-Moore said it was paid for with their own money and “not one penny” has come from the foundation.

She said: “Yeah, and I think everyone can look in hindsight, and our original application, the name was never intended to be The Captain Tom Foundation, it was supposed to be the Captain Tom building.

“It got lost in translation. We take responsibility for that.”

The Charity Commission launched an inquiry into the foundation in June last year, after identifying concerns about the charity’s management and independence from Sir Tom’s family.

It had already opened a case into the charity shortly after the 100-year-old died in 2021, and began reviewing the set-up of the organisation.

The watchdog’s intervention into the foundation had a “massive adverse impact” on fundraising, the charity’s accounts published last month stated.

The foundation’s accounts show that for the nine months from August 2021 to April 2022, Ms Ingram-Moore, received a gross salary of £63,750 in her role as interim chief executive officer.

The Charity Commission had consented to an annual salary of £85,000.

She also received £7,602 in expense payments for travel and administration between June 2021 and November 2022.

A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “Our inquiry into the Captain Tom Foundation remains ongoing.

“Its scope includes examining mismanagement or misconduct which may have led to any financial losses to the charity and whether the trustees have adequately managed conflicts of interest, including with private companies connected to the Ingram-Moore family.”