'I was shocked' by Captain Tom charity, says ex-boss

The erstwhile main enforcement of the Captain Tom Foundation has told the BBC helium was "shocked" and "gobsmacked" by what helium recovered astatine the charity.

In his archetypal interview, Jack Gilbert said helium uncovered what helium considered questionable practices and believes Captain Sir Tom Moore’s girl was partially motivated by self-interest.

It comes aft the Charity Commission recovered Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore benefited from their relation with the foundation acceptable up successful Capt Sir Tom's name, including wealth from a £1.4m publication woody paid to a household company, not to the Foundation.

Mrs Ingram-Moore has been contacted for comment.

Capt Sir Tom, a World War Two veteran, became a household sanction successful 2020 during the pandemic aft raising millions for NHS charities by walking laps of his plot successful lockdown.

After helium died successful February 2021, the foundation watchdog opened an enquiry into the Captain Tom Foundation.

Experienced foundation nonrecreational Mr Gilbert was appointed to instrumentality implicit arsenic main enforcement from Mrs Ingram-Moore and ran the foundation for 5 months earlier it was mothballed owed to the foundation committee investigation.

He told BBC News: "When I came in, I indispensable admit, I was gobsmacked.

I was shocked astatine the fig of systems that conscionable did not accord with champion practice.

One of my archetypal exercises was, of course, to get trusted foundation presumption for the Foundation, which meant going done a full scope of antithetic hurdles.

And the information was that though we had done galore of them, determination were tons of cardinal practices that simply were not successful place."

Mr Gilbert said erstwhile helium was mounting up absorption accounts successful the close format of a charity, which had not been done anterior to his arrival, helium said helium discovered an invoice to Virgin Media, which had been cancelled.

The Charity Commission recovered Mrs Ingram-Moore was paid £18,000 for an quality astatine the Virgin Media O2 Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards.

She said the quality was successful a idiosyncratic capableness and successful her ain time, but the committee disagreed, saying determination was nary grounds to enactment this, and the foundation received conscionable £2,000.

"If you're a main enforcement for a foundation and you are representing that charity, it is precise unusual, unheard of, for the foundation not to payment from activities you've done during your moving day," Mr Gilbert said.

He said successful his presumption it was "deeply unethical" for a foundation main enforcement to payment personally astatine the disbursal of foundation activities.

Mr Gilbert said helium became "quite suspicious" and reported this outgo and different things helium recovered by going done the accounts to the chair, who past reported it to the board.

He said successful his presumption determination was a "level of self-interest".

The commission's study recovered a "pattern of behaviour" successful which the mates benefited personally from their relation with the Captain Tom Foundation and said radical "would understandably consciousness misled".

The committee called connected the Ingram-Moores, who person already been disqualified from being foundation trustees, to marque a "suitable donation" to the foundation successful response.

A property release, assorted selling materials and the prologue of Capt Sir Tom’s memoir stated that the books would beryllium utilized to enactment the foundation.

A spokesperson for the Foundation said they are “pleased with the Charity Commission’s unequivocal findings regarding the Ingram-Moores’ misconduct”.

Mr Gilbert added the instauration was a "lost opportunity".

"The constituent of the thought that we had was to make a foundation that would code ageism, that would alteration radical to enactment erstwhile they were older, to make connections betwixt older radical who are isolated successful the wider community," helium said.

Responding to the foundation watchdog's report, the Ingram-Moores argued it was a “breach of privacy” for the publication woody to person been disclosed by the Charity Commission and said "significant fees" were paid to the literate agent, ineligible and PR professionals, with portions of the wealth utilized to enactment the Captain Tom Foundation.

The Ingram-Moores said determination had been nary misappropriation of funds from the foundation and that they had been treated “unfairly and unjustly” by the inquiry.

Additional reporting by Jon Ironmonger