Getting started with Bluesky for charities

Ingram-Moores repeatedly benefitted personally from involvement in Captain Tom charity, inquiry finds

Melanie May | 21 November 2024 | News

Captain Tom. Credit: Emma Sohl, Capture the Light Photography
Captain Tom. Credit: Emma Sohl, Capture the Light Photography

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. 

Advertisement

Great Fundraising Organizations, by Alan Clayton. Buy now.

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 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.”

Loading

Mastodon