Ingram-Moores repeatedly benefitted personally from involvement in Captain Tom charity, inquiry finds
Melanie May | 21 November 2024 | News
The Charity Commission has published its official report into its investigation of The Captain Tom Foundation, which shows there were repeated instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement by Captain Sir Tom Moore’s family, and that they benefitted personally repeatedly from their involvement.
The report, published today, is highly critical of the conduct and actions of Hannah Ingram-Moore, the charity’s former trustee and CEO, and her husband Colin Ingram-Moore, a former trustee.
It sets out evidence of serious failings in the charity’s management, including failures to act solely in the best interests of the charity and to effectively identify and manage conflicts of interest.
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The report finds that Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore are responsible for a “pattern of behaviour” which saw them repeatedly benefitting personally from their involvement. The failure to manage conflicts of interest arising from their link to each other and the charity’s links to their private companies happened repeatedly and led to direct and indirect private benefit for the family.
The report is also critical of the charity’s trustees, who it finds did not always have sufficient oversight and control of the administration of the charity, but notes that their ability to manage conflicts of interest was limited by the failure of the Ingram-Moores to inform them of potential conflicts of interest as these arose. As such, it concludes that while the non-conflicted trustees are responsible for mismanagement, this did not warrant any further regulatory action.
Inquiry details
The regulator’s inquiry was opened in June 2021 to examine if trustees had been responsible for misconduct and / or mismanagement and if the charity suffered any financial loss, including private benefit to any current or former trustees. It also considered if conflicts of interest were adequately managed and if all trustees complied with and fulfilled their responsibilities under charity law.
More on the inquiry here.
Key findings from the inquiry report
- The public was misled by statements that implied donations from sales of Captain Sir Tom’s autobiography ‘Tomorrow will be a good day’ would go to the charity when in fact the book deal mostly benefitted the family.
- Hannah Ingram-Moore was ‘disingenuous’ when discussing the CEO salary, with the Commission having found communications that showed she initiated the process to secure her appointment as the charity’s CEO with expectations of a £150,000 salary. A lower offer was blocked by the Commission and one of £85,000 authorised.
- Hannah Ingram-Moore kept £18,000 for judging and presenting an award named after Captain Tom, claiming she undertook the engagement in a personal capacity. This was unauthorised with no evidence to support her claim, and personally receiving remuneration for the ambassador agreement created a conflict of interest.
- The handling of intellectual property rights owned by the Ingram-Moore family but offered to the charity for its use without appropriate agreements in place led to confusion and possible financial losses to the charity.
- The Ingram-Moores used the charity’s name inappropriately for private benefit in an original planning application for a building constructed on their private land, amounting to misconduct and/ or mismanagement. More here.
The Commission disqualified Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore from being trustees or holding senior management positions at any charity for 10 and 8 years respectively in June this year.
David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission, said:
“Captain Sir Tom inspired a nation and reminded us what service to others can achieve even in the most challenging of times. His determined fundraising efforts, and the incredibly generous public response, brought a smile and hope to many of us during the pandemic. We should remember his achievements and how grateful NHS Charities Together is for the £39m he raised for the causes they support.
“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. Our inquiry report details repeated failures of governance and integrity.
“The public – and the law – rightly expect those involved in charities to make an unambiguous distinction between their personal interests, and those of the charity and the beneficiaries they are there to serve. This did not happen in the case of The Captain Tom Foundation. We found repeated instances of a blurring of boundaries between private and charitable interests, with Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore receiving significant personal benefit. Together the failings amount to misconduct and / or mismanagement.
“The Commission conducts all its investigations in a fair, balanced and independent way, led by the law and the facts alone. Where those investigations find that individuals have misused the trust that people have in charities, it is right that we take firm action to hold them to account.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.