‘He’s the granddaddy of the country’: Captain Tom Foundation condemned by charity lawyer for ‘damaging’ war hero’s brand – after council orders Hannah Ingram-Moore to demolish £200,000 spa pool complex
A charity lawyer has criticized Captain Sir Tom Moore’s Foundation for the “very sad” damage done to his “brand”, but insisted he will “always be someone who is loved”.
Captain Tom: Where did the Money Go?, which airs on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm, details the truth behind how a large amount of money donated by the British public was spent.
This includes funds raised 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, explains that in the case of his autobiography, it has been repeatedly claimed that the proceeds will go to The Captain Tom Foundation.
Founded in June 2020, the charity aimed to recognize and raise money for organizations supporting older people in Britain.
Captain Tom: Where did the Money Go?, which airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 5, details the truth behind how a large amount of money donated by the British public was spent.
Liz Brownsell, partner and head of charities for Birketts, explains that in the case of his autobiography, it has been repeatedly claimed that the proceeds will go to The Captain Tom Foundation.
His daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore has admitted keeping £800,000 from the three books her father wrote, claiming this was at Captain Tom’s request.
It also comes as Mrs Ingram-Moore was ordered to demolish an unauthorized £200,000 spa pool complex in her garden in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
Neighbors, who welcomed the decision, called the family’s handling of the situation ‘deceitful’ and claimed their reputation had been further damaged after a series of PR disasters.
Captain Tom raised £39 million for NHS Charities Together in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the first lockdown in 2020, prior to his death the following year.
Mrs Brownsell said: “Captain Sir Tom Moore will always be someone much loved and seen as the grandfather of the nation. It’s really sad that the brand itself has been damaged.
“So if you look on the foundation’s 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: ‘Amazingly, at my age, the offer to write this memoir has also given me the opportunity to raise even more money for the charitable foundation now established in my name.”
The expert said: ‘And that is the problem’
The Channel 5 documentary seeks to discover whether Britain was ‘misled’ when it donated millions of pounds to Captain Sir Tom Moore’s cause at the height of the pandemic.
In October, his daughter Ingram-Moore admitted pocketing £800,000 from books written by her father.
His daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore (above with Captain Tom) has admitted to keeping £800,000 from the three books her father wrote, claiming this was at Captain Tom’s request.
Captain Tom receives his knighthood alongside his daughter Hannah (second from left), Colin Ingram-Moore (left) and his grandchildren Benji and Georgia at Windsor Castle
Sir Tom was made an honorary colonel and was later knighted by the Queen (pictured in 2020) at Windsor Castle
Captain Tom Moore, with (from left) grandson Benji, daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and granddaughter Georgia, at his home in Marston Moretaine
She claimed her father wanted the family to keep the profits from his three books: Captain Tom’s Life Lessons, One Hundred Steps and his autobiography Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day.
The family also believes that people who bought the publications were never told that their money was going to charity – a claim disputed in Captain Tom: Where did the Money Go?.
In the interview with TalkTV’s Piers Morgan, Ms Ingram-Moore also broke her silence on the £85,000 salary she earned as interim director of the Captain Tom Foundation.
She spoke about the £18,000 she earned as a judge at an awards ceremony that featured the charity’s name. Only £2,000 of that fee was donated to the organisation.
Discussing his books, written before his death at the age of 100, Ms Ingram-Moore says money earned in his name went to Club Nook Ltd – a separate company from the charity.
“These were my dad’s books, and it was honestly so much fun for him to write them, but they were his books,” she says.
“He had an agent and they were working on that deal, and his wish was that that money would end up in Club Nook, and ultimately….”
Morgan then interrupts her and asks her, “To keep?”, to which she replied, “Yes.”