The Captain Tom Foundation – set up by the family of the late fundraiser – has said it is “to close all payment channels” while a statutory inquiry is carried out.
The charity has released a statement on the homepage of its website, dated July 2023, providing an update on its activities and future plans.
It comes amid a report published by The Sun newspaper, which says Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has been accused of using the foundation’s name to build a spa and pool house in the grounds of their Bedfordshire home.
“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,” the statement says.
“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.
“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 enquiry.”
Third Sector has contacted The Captain Tom Foundation for comment.
The charity was registered by the Charity Commission in May 2020, after being set up by the late Moore’s family, but has since faced questions over its connections with companies owned by the veteran’s relatives.
Moore hit the headlines during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when he walked 100 laps of his garden at the age of 99, raising more than £30m for the NHS. He died in February 2021.
In June 2022, the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the foundation, citing concerns including “the charity’s independence from the family of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore and businesses connected to them”.
It followed a compliance case that the regulator had opened in March of that year.
According to the report in The Sun, Moore’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin told planners they wanted to build an office for the foundation at their home, but instead built a pool house with changing rooms, toilets and showers.
The couple applied using their own names for planning permission but referenced the name of the charity in the design and access and heritage statement, according to The Sun.
When asked for an update on the statutory inquiry, a spokesperson for the Charity Commission told Third Sector: “Our inquiry into the Captain Tom Foundation remains ongoing. We do not comment or provide updates on ongoing inquiries.
“We also don’t provide timescales for inquiries, but it is our usual process to publish a report at the end of an inquiry to detail our findings, conclusions and any actions taken.”