Captain Tom Moore's family blame watchdog probe for slump in income

Captain Tom Moore’s daughter raked in £70K salary and expenses all while donations to charity plunged, accounts show – as lockdown hero’s family blame watchdog probe into how it was run for income slump

• Income went from £1.096,526 in 12 months to just £402,854 in 18 months

Captain Tom Moore’s daughter raked in around £70,000 in salary and expenses from the charity set up in her lockdown hero father’s name all while donations to the organisation slumped, accounts show. 

The beloved World War Two veteran raised £38million for the NHS at the start of the pandemic in 2020 by walking laps of his garden in Bedfordshire a campaign which inspired people across the planet before sadly passing away after catching the virus aged 100 just a year.

His daughter and son in law Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore have been blasted for the way they allegedly ran a charity set up in his memory, with the Charity Commission launching a statutory inquiry into the foundation last year over decisions that ‘may have generated a significant profit’ for a company run by the couple.

Accounts for the The Captain Tom Foundation which have just been published show that Ms Ingram-Moore earned a salary £63,750 until last year and was paid expenses of £7,602. At the same time, the charity’s income for 18 months was less than half the figure for the previous 12 months. It went from £1.096,526 in 12 months to the end of May 2021 to £402,854 in the 18 months from June 2021 to November last year.

The report added the Charity Commission intervention had ‘a massive adverse impact on the charity and our ability to raise new funds’. MailOnline has contacted the watchdog for comment.

It comes after Captain Tom’s family came under fire for allegedly illegally building a spa pool complex extension to their £1.2million seven-bedroom Grade II-listed house using the Captain Tom Foundation’s name.

One hundred-year-old Captain Tom (left) helped raise £38 million of the NHS during the pandemic, but his daughter and son in law Hannah (right) and Colin Ingram-Moore have been criticised for the way they ran a charity set up in his memory

The new accounts show that the charity still has a financial relationship with one of the Ingram-Moore’s companies, paying £63,750 in salary to Hannah Ingram-Moore, when she was chief executive up until April last year

It said that a list of potential trustees immediately withdrew their applications to join the charity and they were struggling to recruit new trustees.

The report also said that the on going Charity Commission statutory investigation had led to a decision to axe the charity’s chief executive Jack Gilbert, after just four months in the post.

READ MORE: Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter Hannan Ingram-Moore shares cryptic ‘don’t judge’ Instagram post amid planning row over spa and pool extension ‘built using the lockdown hero’s name’ at her £1.2m home

It said: ‘Potential new trustees all withdrew their applications and we have been unable to progress matters on this front.

‘We did take the decision to appoint a new CEO in the hope that regulatory matters could be progressed more quickly and that we could re-group and re-build.

‘We gave our CEO additional time to deliver his strategic plan. Unfortunately regulatory matters could not be progressed as quickly as we all hoped and the trustees took the difficult decision to end the CEO’s contact and close all payment channels whilst the statutory inquiry remains open.’

When the charity’s first accounts were published last year concerns were raised over the payment of consultancy fees and expenses to companies controlled by the Ingram-Moores.

The charity commission found that the payments were reasonable but setup the statutory inquiry looking into ‘concerns about the charity’s management’ including about its independence from Captain Tom’s family ‘and businesses connected to them’.

The new accounts show that the charity still has a financial relationship with one of the Ingram-Moore’s companies, paying £63,750 in salary to Hannah Ingram-Moore, when she was chief executive up until April last year.

Captain Sir Tom Moore raised £38 million for NHS Charities Together in the run up to his 100th birthday during the first lockdown in 2020. He died the following year

Sir Captain Tom Moore’s daughter has refused to knock down a spa and pool extension (right) at her £1.2m home after angry neighbours demanded it be demolished

The report said the Charity Commission had sanctioned a salary of up to £85,000 a year pro rata for nine months.

Her husband Colin, a trustee of the Foundation, was given expenses of £7,602 up from £1,686 the year before for ‘general travel and administration expenses.

Over the period covered by the accounts £24,206 was paid in rent to the Ingram-Moore’s company Matrix Group Limited for rent and telephone costs.

The company was charging the charity £1,500 a month, but said this was reduced to £750 a month towards the end of the project because less speed was needed.

The report said that the charity had given £210,000 in grants to good causes including MINDS Trust and The Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity.

The Charity Commission has declined MailOnline’s request for comment because the ‘inquiry into the Captain Tom Foundation remains ongoing’.

The building was given the green light, but a retrospective application for the spa complex (pictured) made under their own name was refused last year – meaning that they face having to tear that down

Captain Tom Moore’s daughter previously came under fire in July after she was accused of using the charity set up in her father’s name to add a spa pool complex to an allegedly illegal extension at the £1.2million family home in in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire that was built without planning permission – which she also refused to knock down. 

READ MORE: Captain Tom’s family will find out if they have to bulldoze pool and spa complex ‘built using the lockdown hero’s name’ at £1.2m home in October – after furious neighbours called for demolition of ‘ugly’ extension

Ms Ingram-Moore and her husband were granted permission in 2021 to build an L-shaped office building for the Captain Tom Foundation in the grounds of their home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.

A retrospective application for a larger building containing a spa pool was submitted a year ago after it had been built but was refused by the planning authority.

Central Bedfordshire Council said following their decision that an enforcement notice requiring the demolition of the ‘now-unauthorised building’ had been issued and was subject to an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. 

The couple are now appealing against the notice, saying that the building was ‘no more overbearing’ than a previously approved planning application and the ‘heights are the same’, according to documents. 

The appeal statement by Mr Ingram-Moore said: ‘The subject building is no more overbearing than the consented scheme.

‘The view is virtually identical save for a pitch roof being added to the elevational treatment. The heights are the same. As such there cannot be an unacceptable overbearing impact.’

It also said the council had ‘no grounds supporting the refusal of the retrospective application’ and ‘requested’ for the inspector to uphold the appeal.

She also caused outrage after it emerged that she is claiming credit for Captain Tom Moore’s prestigious Points of Lights Award, which he achieved after raising £38million during the pandemic by walking 100 laps of his back garden. 

Hannah Ingram-Moore (pictured with her late father) also caused outrage after it emerged that she is claiming credit for Captain Tom Moore’s prestigious Points of Lights Award, which he achieved after raising £38million during the pandemic by walking 100 laps of his back garden 

The incredible actions also earned the Second World War hero a knighthood from the late Queen Elizabeth II before his death in 2021 aged 100.

MailOnline can today exclusively reveal that Ms Ingram-Moore has allegedly been using her father’s George HW Bush award to promote Maytrix, the company she runs with her husband Colin.

The Points of Light award is one of the gongs featured on the Awards section of the website. It was given to Captain Tom in recognition of the inspiring pandemic fundraising activity in 2020.

Maytrix says on its website: ‘Hannah was thrilled to receive the Award alongside her late father, Captain Sir Tom Moore, for their fundraising efforts during the pandemic.’

Source: Read Full Article