Captain Tom’s Daughter Profited From the Charity in His Name

captain-tom’s-daughter-profited-from-the-charity-in-his-name

Europe|He Was a National Hero in Britain. His Daughter Profited From His Name.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/world/europe/captain-tom-daughter-charity-misconduct.html

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The family of Captain Tom Moore, who raised $50 million for Britain’s health service during the pandemic, has been criticized for ‘serious and repeated’ misconduct by an official inquiry.

An elderly man, with military medals pinned to his suit jacket, on a patio outside a brick house.
Captain Tom Moore raised nearly 40 million pounds, or $50.5 million, for the National Health Service during the coronavirus pandemic.Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York Times

Mark Landler

His walk for charity at the age of 99 captivated a nation in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. But the legacy of Captain Tom Moore, the decorated British Army officer who raised nearly 40 million pounds, or $50.5 million, for the National Health Service, has been tarnished by disclosures about how his family profited from the sudden fame of their plucky patriarch.

On Thursday, Britain’s Charity Commission said in a damning report that Mr. Moore’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, and her husband Colin had “damaged public trust” with “serious and repeated instances of misconduct” relating to a charitable foundation set up in the name of Mr. Moore, who died in 2021.

The couple held on to an advance worth close to 1.5 million pounds, or $1.9 million, for three books by Mr. Moore, rather than giving a portion of it to the foundation as they had signaled they would. They used the foundation’s name to obtain approval to build a spa and pool facility next to the Moore family home in Bedfordshire (they were later ordered to tear it down).

And Ms. Ingram-Moore had been “disingenuous” when she claimed in interviews that she had never been offered a six-figure salary to become chief executive of the Captain Tom Foundation. She had discussed a salary of 150,000 pounds, applied for one of 100,000 pounds, and was rejected by the commission.

“Captain Sir Tom inspired a nation and reminded us what service to others can achieve even in the most challenging of times,” said David Holdsworth, the chief executive of the Charity Commission, in a statement. “Sadly, however, the charity set up in his name has not lived up to that legacy of others before self, which is central to charity.”

“We found repeated instances of a blurring of boundaries between private and charitable interests, with Mr. and Mrs. Ingram-Moore receiving significant personal benefit,” Mr. Holdsworth said.


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