‘We’re not hiding anything’: Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter tearfully denies claims she swindled her late father’s fundraising cash as she tells This Morning she’s been ‘naive’ but ‘that doesn’t mean we’re bad’
- Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has denied allegations related to a charity
- Hannah Ingram-Moore told ITV’s This Morning that ‘we’re not hiding anything’
- A charity named after the WW2 veteran was set up to celebrate older people
- But the family is accused of swindling the £40million he raised for the NHS
Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has emotionally denied allegations that the charity set up in the British war hero’s name tried to appoint her as chief executive on a six-figure salary.
Hannah Ingram-Moore told ITV’s This Morning that ‘we’re not hiding anything’ and accused the media of ‘damaging’ her late father’s legacy.
Captain Tom became a national icon after raising nearly £40million for the NHS during the coronavirus crisis by walking laps of his garden to mark his 100th birthday in the first lockdown.
A charity named after the Second World War veteran, who died after testing positive for the virus last year, was set up to celebrate the older generation and contribute to organisations who support them.
However, a proposed Captain Tom Day in June has been postponed following claims that his family swindled the NHS fundraising cash.
Accounts for The Captain Tom Foundation showed only £162,000 was awarded in its first year, while around £240,000 of £400,000 in outgoings were spent on fundraising and administration.
They showed the foundation reimbursed £50,000 of expenditure to companies run by Mrs Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin, including their consultancy firm Maytrix. The Charity Commission said its ‘engagement’ with the charity’s trustees is ongoing.
Speaking to This Morning’s Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, Mrs Ingram-Moore denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the accounts were ‘a snapshot in time in the first year of the charity’.
Hannah Ingram-Moore told ITV’s This Morning that ‘we’re not hiding anything’ and accused the media of ‘damaging’ her late father’s legacy
Captain Tom became a national icon after raising nearly £40million for the NHS during the coronavirus crisis by walking laps of his garden to mark his 100th birthday
Speaking to This Morning’s Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, Mrs Ingram-Moore denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the accounts were ‘a snapshot in time’
Saying the accounts were ‘independently audited’, she added: ‘We couldn’t have made any of these numbers up.
‘But the £150,000 is absolutely not true. What the trustees did was ask for a benchmarking: “Please tell us if we were to employ a CEO, what would be the benchmark? What’s the highest, what’s the lowest?”. The highest happened to be £150,000’.
Captain Tom’s daughter held back tears as she said: ‘We’re not hiding anything. There’s nothing wrong, we haven’t made any false action, and I genuinely think, though, that the vast majority of people think that’.
Mrs Ingram-Moore admitted that the family was ‘naïve’ but ‘not bad’ in setting up a charity in her father’s name.
‘I think we’ve been incredibly naïve, but I don’t think we’re bad. We stepped into this for love, for humanity, for allowing as many people as possible access to his legacy,’ she said.
‘We never thought of the darkness, never. It never crossed our minds.’ She added: ‘In the end, my father taught us resilience and humanity. ‘Ultimately our ambition in his name is a world without ageism.
‘Every single day I see the hate, or the false headlines, or the desire to find a hole in me.’
In an interview with The Mirror, Mrs Ingram-Moore said: ‘People think the foundation received £38.9million raised by my father. All money went to NHS Charities Together, which was responsible for distributing it.
‘To read things like “Capt Sir Tom’s daughter pumps tens of thousands of pounds into her own companies” has been heartbreaking because it simply isn’t true.
Captain Sir Tom pictured with his family after receiving a knighthood from the Queen
It follows claims that the Captain Tom Foundation attempted to pay Hannah Ingram-Moore, above, a salary in the region of £150,000 before a watchdog intervened
‘In the first year, Colin and I were not paid a penny. I did step into a paid role in year two. But to suggest I used this for financial gain is utterly ludicrous.
‘All the trustees did was go to agencies and ask what the benchmark salary for the role was. The upper salary was £150,000 and the lower end was £65,000. They never offered me £150,000. In fact, it’s much nearer the lower end.’
Amid allegations about the charity’s accounts, Captain Tom Day has been postponed while the watchdog investigates.
Dame Esther Rantzen, one of the event’s organisers, said the war hero’s daughter is putting the day on hold.
On whether she would want to be linked to the charity if the watchdog came across issues, Dame Esther also said: ‘I’ve got to protect my own reputation, absolutely’, reported The Independent.
A description for the event on the charity’s website reads: ‘This will be a day devoted to those who have given us so much, a day to inspire and empower people who have often felt dismissed.
‘This will be a day to remind us all of the positive impact gained by working together across generations, promoting a sense of pride and purpose to many who have felt they had been left behind.
‘You will be encouraged to fundraise, share stories and events, and to recognise projects and organisations who are supporting our ageing population. We will also be offering an award for innovation as part of the event.’
It comes after the late war veteran’s family were granted planning permission in 2021 for a new house in the grounds of their current home, The Sun reported.
It will include a kitchen, toilet and outside patio and will be 15x6m. Planning documents claimed it will ‘be used in part for private use but mostly in connection with The Captain Tom Foundation’.
The Matrix Group, which has offices on the property already, made the planning application.
Mrs Ingram-Moore said the new house ‘is funded entirely by family money’.
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