‘He walked so she could float!’ Backlash as lockdown hero Captain Tom Moore’s daughter is accused of using her father’s name to build an office next to her £1.2M home (before adding spa pool extension)
- Captain Tom Foundation already facing an inquiry from the Charity Commission
Lockdown hero Captain Tom Moore’s daughter is facing a backlash after she was accused of using her father’s name to build an office next to her £1.2million home before adding a spa pool extension.
Hannah Ingram-Moore, 52, and her husband Colin made an application to build an L-shaped building next to their home in Bedfordshire before later adding a 50ft by 20ft pool house complete with changing rooms, showers and toilets, planning documents show.
According to documents seen by MailOnline, the couple sought planning permission in 2021 for the office under the name of the Captain Tom Foundation – then used their own names to extend the building.
Sir Tom became a national hero after raising £38million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of the garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the first national Covid lockdown in April 2020. He completed the laps in the garden of his daughter’s seven-bedroom home, which he had moved into after his wife Pamela died in 2006.
The Captain Tom Foundation was registered on June 5, 2020 following his fundraising efforts.
Sir Tom was knighted and honoured with an RAF Flypast before his death in February 2021.
The charity’s trustees told the Sun newspaper last night: ‘At no time were The Captain Tom Foundation’s independent trustees aware of planning permissions made by Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore purporting to be in the foundation’s name. Had they been aware of any applications, the independent trustees would not have authorised them.’ MailOnline has contacted the foundation and Ms Ingram-Moore for further comment.
A resident said: ‘It was still a bit of a shell last summer. It was an L-shape or a C-shape. It was still under construction, although the main body was done. No one [outside the grounds of the property] could see it really, apart from the roof, because it’s quite low.’
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin made an application to build an L-shaped building next to their home in Bedfordshire before later adding a 50ft by 20ft pool house complete with changing rooms, showers and toilets
Captain Tom Moore reacts after completing the 100th length of his back garden in Marston Moretaine in April 2020 during the Covid lockdown
Ms Ingram-Moore on ITV’s This Morning show in March 2022
Captain Tom’s daughter is facing a backlash after she was accused of using her father’s name to build an office to her £1.2million home before adding a spa pool extension
In August 2021, Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore sought planning permission for a charity office which they said was ‘urgently required’ for presentations and memorabilia. The extension was given the green light, but a retrospective application for the spa complex made under their own name was refused last year – meaning that they face having to tear that down.
The Charity Commission told MailOnline it could not comment because of its current probe into the Sir Tom Foundation, which started off as a case in March 2021 but escalated into an inquiry in June last year.
A more serious probe was launched amid concerns that a private company, Club Nook Ltd, that is controlled by Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore ‘may have generated significant profit’ from trademarking variations of ‘Captain Tom’ without any objection from the charity.
The watchdog also said it would explore alleged ‘mismanagement’ and ‘misconduct’ in the trustees’ decision-making and the charity’s governance, including managing conflicts of interest.
Sir Tom is pictured with his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore in 2020 as he receives knighthood from HRH Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle
The Captain Tom Foundation was registered on June 5, 2020 following his fundraising efforts. Pictured: Sir Tom and his daughter Hannah celebrate his 100 laps
Sir Tom Moore (pictured front) along with his grandchildren Benji (left), Georgia (middle left), his daughter Hannah (middle right) and her husband Colin Ingram (right) while enjoying the Barbados sunshine in December 2020
Sir Tom was made an honorary colonel and was later knighted by the Queen (pictured in 2020) at Windsor Castle
Club Nook Ltd was said to have made £809,000 in its first year, and that after creditors were paid, it was left with just under £500,000.
The Ingram-Moores refused to speak to reporters at their property about the spa complex. No update has emerged since the Charity Commission launched its probe of the foundation.
At the time of announcing the inquiry, Helen Stephenson, CEO of the Charity Commission, said: ‘The late Captain Sir Tom Moore inspired the nation with his courage, tenacity and concern for others. It is vital that public trust in charity is protected, and that people continue to feel confident in supporting good causes.
‘We do not take any decision to open an inquiry lightly, but in this case our concerns have mounted.
‘We consider it in the public interest to examine them through a formal investigation, which gives us access to the full range of our protective and enforcement powers.’
The £38million raised by Sir Tom, and donated to a separate charity, NHS Charities Together, prior to the formation of The Captain Tom Foundation is not part of the scope of the inquiry.
In March last year, the charity requested the watchdog’s permission to employ Ms Ingram-Moore on a salary of £60,000 per year for three days a week.
The Commission requested evidence of the benchmarking exercise undertaken. The charity provided the Commission with this evidence and a revised proposal to appoint Mrs Ingram-Moore on a salary of £100,000 on a full-time basis.
In July 2021, the watchdog refused permission to employ her as chief executive on a salary of £100,000, considering the proposed salary ‘neither reasonable nor justifiable’.
A month later, the Commission permitted the charity to appoint Mrs Ingram-Moore as interim CEO on a salary of £85,000 per year, on a three-month rolling contract, for a maximum of nine months whilst the trustees conducted an open recruitment process. This period has now ended and the charity has since recruited a new CEO.
WWII veteran fundraiser turned 100-year-old national treasure: A timeline of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s extraordinary 2020
April 6 2020: Captain Tom, aged 99, sets out to walk 100 laps of his garden by his 100th birthday. His target is to raise £1,000 for the NHS.
April 8: He is interviewed on his local TV news programme after his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore sends them a press release.
April 14: Donations to the veteran’s JustGiving page break the £1 million mark after national media reports on his efforts.
April 15: Health Secretary Matt Hancock hails Captain Tom as an ‘inspiration to us all’ as donations top £10 million.
April 16: Captain Tom completes his 100th lap of his garden and vows to keep walking.
April 17: The Duke of Cambridge describes the veteran as an ‘absolute legend’. Donations exceed £20 million.
April 21: Captain Tom opens a new Nightingale hospital in his native Yorkshire in a virtual appearance.
April 24: He becomes the oldest artist to reach number one in the UK singles charts with his rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, recorded with singer Michael Ball.
April 27: Royal Mail announces a special postmark to celebrate Captain Tom’s upcoming birthday.
April 29: Great Western Railway (GWR) names a train after Captain Tom.
April 30: A Spitfire flypast marks the veteran’s 100th birthday. He receives thousands of cards including one from the Queen. His fundraising page closes at midnight having totalled almost £33 million.
May 5: Captain Tom is awarded a gold Blue Peter badge.
May 12: He is awarded the Freedom of the City of London in a virtual ceremony.
July 17: Captain Tom is knighted by the Queen in her first official engagement in person since lockdown lifted, becoming Captain Sir Tom Moore.
July 31: He is awarded the freedom of his home town, Keighley in Yorkshire.
August 3: He is made honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
August 14: His portrait is unveiled at the National Army Museum in London. Artist Alexander Chamberlin says he is ‘hugely proud’ to have painted it.
September 17: Sir Tom launches his autobiography, called Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day. Sales help to support his charity the Captain Tom Foundation, which aims to spread hope.
September 23: A film company announces it is to give Sir Tom the big screen treatment, following a fierce bidding war.
November 5: He launches a campaign called Walk With Tom, aiming to ease loneliness as England enters a second lockdown.
November 16: He becomes GQ’s oldest cover star as the magazine names him its Inspiration Of The Year at the annual Men Of The Year awards.
December 11: After consulting doctors, Sir Tom and his family fly to Barbados after being treated to a holiday by British Airways.
December 25: On Christmas Day Sir Tom tells BBC Breakfast things ‘will get better’ as families spend the holiday alone due to restrictions.
January 1 2021: His figure is formed in lights as part of New Year’s Eve celebrations in London to mark the end of 2020.
January 6: Sir Tom returns to Britain.
January 12: The veteran is admitted to Bedford Hospital and is diagnosed with pneumonia. Between December 9 and January 12 he is regularly tested for Covid-19 and tests negative each time.
January 22: Sir Tom is discharged to his family home so he can feel ‘comfortable’ but tests positive for coronavirus on the same day.
January 31: He is taken back to Bedford Hospital by ambulance for additional treatment for his breathing, after previously receiving care at home from his family and medical professionals.
February 1: His condition deteriorates and daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and grandchildren Benjie and Georgia visit his bedside to say goodbye while his other daughter Lucy Teixeira speaks to him by video call.
February 2: Sir Tom dies aged 100 in Bedford Hospital as his daughters pay tribute to their ‘incredible father’.
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