The family of Sir Captain Tom Moore cashed in on his name to enrich themselves “repeatedly”, the findings of a long-awaited report have found.
The World War Two veteran became a household name during the first Covid-19 lockdown, by walking up and down his driveway in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
He raised £38.9 million for NHS Charities Together as a result of his efforts, all of which went to the intended recipient.
But an investigation by The Charity Commission has found that Captain Tom’s daughter and son-in-law benefited personally from the charity set up in his name, the Captain Tom Foundation.
The regulator found that Club Nook, a private firm set up by the Ingram-Moores in April 2020, was paid an advance of £1.47 million for Capt Sir Tom’s three books, including his best-selling autobiography, Tomorrow Will be a Good Day.
The publisher Penguin, and promoter Carver PR, said the family gave repeated assurances that part of the advance would be used to set up and fund the foundation.
In addition, a press release, various marketing materials and the prologue of Capt Sir Tom’s memoir, all stated that the books would be used to support or raise money for the foundation.
However, to date the charity has not received any money from the publishing agreement.
The Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth said there were repeated instances of a “blurring of boundaries between private and charitable interests” and that Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore benefited significantly.
But the commission concluded that the actions of the family did not represent criminal behaviour and it had not passed its findings to police.
Paul Latham, the director of communications at the Charity Commission, told the BBC: “We haven’t seen evidence of a crime. If we do, we have very close relations with the police and of course, would do so.
“There is a high bar for criminal offences and we have not identified that.”
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