Captain Tom fund faces charity probe
THE Captain Tom Foundation was in crisis last night after the Charity Commission revealed it is opening a statutory inquiry.
It is investigating decisions that ‘may have generated significant profit’ for a company run by the war veteran’s family.
The commission opened a case last year but has escalated it due to ‘newly identified concerns’.
Captain Sir Tom Moore raised £38million by walking circuits of his Bedfordshire garden to mark his 100th birthday during the first Covid lockdown in April 2020.
That money was donated to NHS Charities Together and does not fall within the scope of the inquiry.
The foundation was set up in May 2020 to continue his legacy. Captain Tom died with Covid the following February.
The Charity Commission’s principal focus will be on intellectual property and trademark issues – as well as donations, the foundation generates income through branded merchandise including T-shirts and gin.
It will examine the trustees’ decisionmaking and the charity’s governance, including managing conflicts of interest. Captain Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram
Moore, is a former trustee and her husband, Colin, remains on the board.
The couple established a company, Club Nook Ltd. The commission said it was given the opportunity to trademark variations of the name Captain Tom, which ‘may have generated significant profit’.
The commission revealed yesterday that last year it looked at the charity’s request to employ mother- of-two Mrs IngramMoore on a salary of £60,000 for three days a week, later changed to £100,000 on a fulltime basis. It refused, saying the sum was ‘neither reasonable nor justifiable’.
Mrs Ingram-Moore was allowed to act as interim CEO on £85,000 a year for up to nine months. A new CEO, Jack Gilbert – who has 20 years’ experience in the voluntary sector – took over this month.
Stephen Jones, chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees, said the commission was made aware during the registration process that ‘image rights and intellectual property rights of the name were held within a private family trust’. He added: ‘We will work closely with the commission.’
The family said they welcomed the Charity Commission’s announcement. They said that Club Nook Ltd made its application for trademarks before the formation of the foundation and that Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore were trustee directors of the charity upon its formation.