The Captain Tom Foundation is under renewed scrutiny after reports its co-founder Hannah Ingram-Moore was paid thousands of pounds via a family company for appearances linked to the charity that bears her father’s name.
According to the BBC, Ingram-Moore helped judge Virgin Media O2 awards ceremonies featuring the Captain Tom Foundation. Although she was at the time the £85,000-a-year interim chief executive of the foundation, her appearance fee was paid via a private company owned by her and her husband, Colin.
The Captain Tom Foundation has been under investigation by the Charity Commission for more than a year in relation to potential conflicts of interest between the charity and businesses owned by the Ingram-Moores, as well as concerns over mismanagement and compliance with charity law.
Ingram-Moore did not seek approval from the foundation board before entering into the commercial agreement with Virgin Media O2, according to the BBC.
The foundation was created in 2020 after Captain Sir Tom Moore raised £38m for the NHS Charities Together cause. The 99-year-old second world war veteran had planned to raise £1,000 by walking round his garden 100 times, but this snowballed after it caught the imagination of the nation and became a global phenomenon.
The charity was set up in the wake of his achievement to raise funds for good causes in the area of older people, mental health and loneliness. After a series of controversies it stopped taking donations earlier this year. Its latest accounts from 2022 said it had given out £160,000 of more than £1m raised in donations and legacies.
A spokesperson for the charity trustees told the BBC: “The Captain Tom Foundation is aware of the commercial arrangements made by Hannah Ingram-Moore with Virgin Media O2 in respect of the ‘Virgin Media Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards’.
“This matter is subject of an ongoing internal investigation. The Charity Commission has been notified of the Foundation’s review of this matter and the foundation will share its findings once the investigation has concluded.”
A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “When payment was made, we were not aware of any concerns about Maytrix or the Captain Tom Foundation that have since come to light after our campaign and relationship with Captain Tom finished.”
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “Our inquiry into the Captain Tom Foundation remains ongoing. Its scope includes examining whether the trustees have adequately managed conflicts of interest, including with private companies connected to the Ingram-Moore family.”
Funds raised by Moore and donated to NHS Charities Together before the foundation was set up are not part of the inquiry. Moore died in 2021.
