Captain Tom Moore's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore has denied allegations she has swindled the NHS charity cash raised by her late veteran father.
A total of £38.9 million was raised by Captain Sir Tom - who walked 100 laps of his yard to mark his 100th birthday during the first UK lockdown in 2020.
But in February 2022, his daughter Hannah made headlines when claims stated she'd been appointed as chief executive of The Captain Tom Foundation on a six-figure salary. Accounts for the foundation showed £162,000 was awarded in its first year, whilst £240,000 of £400,000 in outgoings went on fundraising and administration and £50,000 of reimbursed expenditure to companies run by Hannah and husband Colin.
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Hannah said she had loaned money to the charity from her own business, which she then reclaimed at a later date, when the charity had raised more money.
In a report from The Mirror on Wednesday, March 2, Hannah, 51, explained: “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.
“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.”
During an appearance on ITV's This Morning on Thursday, March 3, presenter Phillip Schofield said to Hannah: "If any of that [the allegations] proves to be true, then you've stuck your head way above the parapet and sat on our sofa here. You'll be found out."
Hannah Ingram-Moore said: "One hundred per cent. And look from my point of view, my whole life I've wanted to be held accountable.
"That's what my father taught me. Stand up, be accounted and be accountable. We've never shied away from regulation. Hold me accountable. Hold my feet to the flame.
"I'm guarding my father's legacy, that's how we feel we're the guardians. We'd never hurt it. But I would never be able to sit on here and tell you something that isn't true. It's clear our accounts are there to be seen but 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 know that."
She spoke of the trolling she had received and got tearful as she said: "It's was devastating honestly and if you think that my father couldn't hear, that was the only reason I was sat there [in the interviews].
"This has just been a shocking amount of negativity that has been honed really directly at me personally.
"I think we've been incredibly naive but I don't think that means we're bad. I think we're wholesome, good people and we run businesses we understand. But I think we stepped into this for love, for humanity... we never thought of the darkness, it never crossed our minds."
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITV Hub
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