What happened to the Captain Tom Foundation? A timeline of its controversies

Captain Sir Tom Moore looking like a superhero
Captain Sir Tom Moore became a household name, but now his associated charity is mired in controversy. Credit: Gavin Bond

Three-and-a-half years after veteran fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore became a national treasure, he and his family remain household names.

However, in recent months the charity in his name has become mired in controversy, with his daughter most recently admitting keeping £800,000 of profits from the three books he wrote.

Speaking to Piers Morgan in an interview broadcast on Thursday, Hannah Ingram-Moore said that her father wanted his family to get the profits from book sales, rather than his charity - the Captain Tom Foundation.

While his legacy of raising millions of pounds for NHS charities is not in doubt, controversies around the charity have endured.

Here is a full timeline of how the Captain Tom Foundation was set up and how it has found itself at the centre of financial investigations.

March 2020

When the nation was told to stay indoors amid the first Covid-19 lockdown, war veteran Captain Tom walked 100 laps around his garden in Bedfordshire before his 100th birthday.

Captain Sir Tom Moore raised millions of pounds for the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic Credit: Danny Lawson/PA

He raised over £30 million, as his fundraising efforts captured the nation's imagination.

April 2020

Tom teamed up with legendary singer Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir to record a rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

Their cover of the Liverpool FC anthem went straight in at number one on The Official Big Top 40 chart.

More than 100,000 birthday cards were sent for his 100th birthday, Great Western Railway named one of their new trains after the captain and a special Battle of Britain flypast was staged.

Captain Sir Tom Moore's Birthday cards at Bedford School. Credit: ITV News

July 2020

The fundraising hero was knighted by the Queen during a special private ceremony at Windsor Castle.

September 2020

The Captain Tom Foundation is set up, inspired by the memory of his late wife.

The foundation aims to combat loneliness and supporting those facing bereavement.

New Year's Eve 2020

A drone silhouette of Captain Sir Tom appears at the London New Year's Eve firework display.

February 2021

Captain Sir Tom Moore dies at the age of 100 after testing positive for Covid-19 and getting pneumonia.

His funeral takes place in Bedfordshire.

Flowers were left at a plaque dedicated to Captain Sir Tom Moore in his birthplace, Keighley, on the day of his funeral. Credit: PA

September 2021

The family of Captain Sir Tom Moore launch a children's book marking the achievements of inspirational people during the pandemic.

February 2022

Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter says she can still feel the presence of her father “in everything” around her, as the family marked the first anniversary of the fundraiser's death.

The controversies begin, as charities watchdog The Charity Commission announces it is investigating the Captain Tom Foundation after concerns were raised over its accounts and governance.

The investigation came after the charity paid more than £50,000 to companies run by Mrs Ingram-Moore and her husband.

They were both appointed trustees of the charity in February 2021, though Mrs Ingram-Moore resigned six weeks later, while her husband remained as one of three trustees.

March 2022

Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter defends the charity's set-up on ITV's This Morning, denying reports that the charity set up in her late father's honour had at one stage planned to appoint her chief executive on a six-figure salary.

Hannah Ingram-Moore spoke to Holly and Phil on ITV's This Morning. Credit: ITV This Morning

June 2022

The Charity Commission opens a probe into the charity after identifying fresh "concerns" about his family's involvement.

It said it would investigate payments by the charity to a company linked to Mrs Ingram-Moore and her husband's companies, in a statutory inquiry focused on the foundation's independence from the family.

July 2023

The Captain Tom Foundation stops taking donations amid a probe into its finances by a charity watchdog.

Planning chiefs had already ordered an unauthorised building to be demolished at the family's Bedfordshire home, after retrospective plans for a building containing a spa pool were rejected.

The Ingram-Moores say the building, seen on the right, is set back from the road and out of sight. Credit: PA

Ms Ingram-Moore and her husband applied for permission to build a "Captain Tom Foundation Building" in the garden of their home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, in 2021.

The building was approved to be used "in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives", but later revised after a larger building containing a spa pool was built.

Ms Ingram-Moore appeals against the demolition order.

September 2023

A probe into the charity had a "massive adverse impact" on fundraising, the charity claims, as accounts revealed that the late veteran's daughter received more than £70,000 to head the charity.

Captain Sir Tom Moore was knighted before his 100th birthday. Credit: ITV News

Accounts reveal that the income at the charity more than halved from £1m in the 2021 financial year, to just £400,000 for the 18 months from June 2021 to November 2022.

October 2023

Hannah Ingram-Moore defends herself in an interview with Piers Morgan, as it emerges that her family kept profits from three books he had written - reported by The Sun to be £800,000.

She says that her father wanted them to get the profits from book sales.


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