The daughter of Captain Sir Tom Moore was forced to step down as chief executive of the Captain Tom Foundation after taking an 'unjustifiable' salary of £100,000.
In July 2021, the Charity Commission called her proposed salary 'neither reasonable nor justifiable' and stepped in to stop the foundation employing Hannah Ingham-Moore as chief executive, Sky News reported at the time.
This week, it was announced that the foundation has stopped receiving funds from well-wishing donors.
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On Tuesday (4 July), the foundation put out a statement saying it would not be seeking donations, and was closing all payment channels during the inquiry.
Central Bedfordshire Council has also ordered a spa building in the home of Ingram-Moore be demolished after a retrospective planning applications refused.
At the start of the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, Sir Tom raised £38.9 million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden.
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He passed away at the age of 100 in February 2021.
His family set up the charity in June 2020 with Ingham-Moore and her husband Colin becoming trustees of the charity in February 2021.
A month later, a wage of £85,000 a year was agreed but it was only temporary while recruitment was being carried out.
The charity's CEO, Jack Gilbert, was then appointed in June 2022.
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The couple applied in 2021 for permission to build a 'Captain Tom Foundation Building' in the grounds of their home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
An L-shaped building was given the green light, and was described as to be used partly 'in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives'.
A later retrospective application in 2022 for a larger C-shaped building described as 'a new building for use by the occupiers' containing a spa pool, but was refused planning permission.
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A spokesperson for Central Bedfordshire Council said on Tuesday (4 July): “An enforcement notice requiring the demolition of the now-unauthorised building was issued and this is now subject to an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate."
In June 2022, the Charity Commission opened an investigation into the foundation after concerns about the charity’s management and separation from his family.
In their own statement, the foundation said: “At this moment in time, the sole focus of the Captain Tom Foundation is to ensure that it co-operates fully with the ongoing statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission.
“As a result, the Captain Tom Foundation is not presently actively seeking any funding from donors. Accordingly, we have also taken the decision to close all payment channels while the statutory inquiry remains open.
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“Once the findings of the statutory inquiry have been communicated, the Captain Tom Foundation will be in a better position to make a decision in relation to its future, but for now, our main priority is to assist the Charity Commission with its inquiry.
“In the meantime, on behalf of the trustees of the Captain Tom Foundation, we wish to extend a warm thank you to all our supporters who have enabled us to help charities that were close to Captain Sir Tom’s heart.”
They'd previously told a national newspaper: “At no time were the Captain Tom Foundation’s independent trustees aware of planning permissions made by Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore purporting to be in the foundation’s name.
“Had they been aware of any applications, the independent trustees would not have authorised them.”
LADbible have approached the charity for further comment.
Amelia Jones