The £38M that lockdown hero Captain Tom Moore raised during Covid is 'not under investigation', NHS charity insists - as his daughter faces backlash for adding 'illegal' spa pool extension to her £1.2M home
The charity that handed out the millions raised by Captain Tom Moore's laps of his garden was forced to clarify it was 'not under investigation' yesterday following the latest allegations involving his family.
The war veteran raised £38 million for NHS Charities Together in the run up to his 100th birthday during the first lockdown in 2020. He died the following year.
Since then, the Charity Commission has opened a formal inquiry into the Captain Tom Foundation, a wellbeing charity, and its links to a company run by his daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin.
This week there were further questions about the couple's conduct amid claims they named the foundation in a planning application at their home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
They are appealing against an order to tear down the office annexe in the grounds of their £1.5 million seven-bedroom Grade II-listed house after it emerged they had added a swimming pool and facilities including changing rooms, showers and toilets without permission.
The charity that handed out the millions raised by Captain Tom Moore's (pictured with his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore in April 2020) laps of his garden was forced to clarify it was 'not under investigation' yesterday following the latest allegations involving his family
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin made an application to build an L-shaped building next to their home in Bedfordshire before later adding a 50ft by 20ft pool house complete with changing rooms, showers and toilets
Sir Tom Moore (pictured front) along with his grandchildren Benji (left), Georgia (middle left), his daughter Hannah (middle right) and her husband Colin Ingram (right) while enjoying the Barbados sunshine in December 2020
With public anger growing about the claims, a spokesman for NHS Charities Together said: 'The Captain Tom Foundation is a completely separate organisation that was established after Captain Tom did his fundraising for our Covid-19 Urgent Appeal and the Charity Commission has made clear that the £38 million he raised for NHS Charities Together is not under investigation.'
A statement added the £160 million raised by its Covid appeal had been 'distributed across the network of NHS charities to reach every NHS trust and health board in the UK'.
It continued: 'It has funded thousands of projects and provided vital mental health support for NHS staff, training for emergency volunteers, equipment and support for patients, and community partnership programmes to prevent ill health and reduce pressure on NHS services.'
A Covid appeal progress report on the website of the charity said the result 'demonstrates the difference' the funds make.
The announcement was seen as a move to avoid collateral damage from the fall-out surrounding the foundation and Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore's other interests.
The Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into the foundation last year over decisions that 'may have generated a significant profit' for a company run by the couple.
It said Club Nook Ltd had been given the 'opportunity to trademark variations of the name "Captain Tom" without objection from the charity, which raised money from branded products including gin and T-shirts.
The commission previously turned down an application for Mrs Ingram-Moore, 52, to become the foundation's chief executive on £100,000-a-year – a salary similar to that run by the heads of major charities.
She was later allowed to take the post on an interim basis on the equivalent of £85,000-a-year. A new CEO is now in place.
This week it emerged an application for an L-shaped office in their three-acre garden - where Captain Tom, who was knighted for his fundraising, walked his laps – had been submitted with the explanation it was needed 'in connection with The Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives'.
Captain Sir Tom Moore raised £38 million for NHS Charities Together in the run up to his 100th birthday during the first lockdown in 2020. He died the following year.
Sir Tom was made an honorary colonel and was later knighted by the Queen (pictured in 2020) at Windsor Castle
Ms Ingram-Moore on ITV's This Morning show in March 2022
But the Ingram-Moores allegedly turned it into a C-shaped building with a pool and spa facilities before seeking retrospective planning approval in February last year.
They are appealing to the Planning Inspectorate against an order by Central Bedfordshire Council to raze the entire structure.
The foundation made it clear in a statement that it had not been aware of the construction work, saying: 'Had they been aware of any applications, the independent trustees would not have authorised them.'
An online backlash against the Ingram-Moores has seen comments including: 'He did laps of his garden so she could do laps of her pool.'
Neighbours have also objected to the 'eyesore' building and around 100 signed a petition against it.
Vanessa Frazer, who lives nearby, told the BBC: 'It's a shame for Captain Sir Tom Moore's legacy that it's brought the village into disrepute a little bit. He'd done such great work for charity.'
The foundation was contacted for a statement yesterday.
The Ingram-Moores have failed to respond to requests to comment and are believed to be on holiday. A reporter who knocked on their door was told: 'They're away and will be for some time.'
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