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Captain Tom's daughter ordered to tear down home spa - as foundation in his name stops taking donations

The Captain Tom Foundation was set up in honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore, a 100-year-old war veteran who raised almost 拢33m for NHS Charities Together by walking 1,000 laps of his garden in 2020.

Wednesday 5 July 2023 13:49, UK

File photo dated 16/04/2020 of the then 99-year-old war veteran Captain Tom Moore at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, after he achieved his goal of 100 laps of his garden. Captain Sir Tom Moore has died at the age of 100 after testing positive for Covid-19, his daughters Hannah and Lucy said in a statement. Issue date: Tuesday February 2, 2021.
Image: Captain Sir Tom Moore
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The Captain Tom Foundation says it has stopped taking donations after it emerged his daughter will have to tear down an unapproved home spa.

It also comes amid an ongoing Charity Commission investigation into its finances.

Planning bosses ordered an unauthorised building at Captain Tom's daughter's home be demolished, after plans for a block containing a spa pool were rejected.

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

Plans for the site said it would be used partly "in connection with The Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives".

Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore delivers a speech during the official opening of a new garden at the Helen and Douglas House children's hospice in Oxford. Picture date: Wednesday August 11, 2021.
Image: Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore

Central Bedfordshire accepted them. However, the authority refused a retrospective application in 2022, for a larger building, containing a spa pool.

The council spokesperson said: "An enforcement notice requiring the demolition of the now-unauthorised building was issued and this is now subject to an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate."

The foundation's statement also comes amid a statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission over concerns about the charity's management and independence from the late veteran's family.

Read more:
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Captain Tom Moore Foundation investigated

Captain Tom Moore was knighted by the Queen
Image: Captain Tom Moore was knighted by the Queen

A statement on the foundation's site said: "At this moment in time, the sole focus of The Captain Tom Foundation is to ensure that it cooperates fully with the ongoing Statutory Inquiry by the Charity Commission.

"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 whilst the Statutory Inquiry remains open."

The charity said it would be in a "better position" to "make a decision in relation to its future" once it had received the findings of the inquiry.

Queen Elizabeth II talks Captain Sir Thomas Moore and his family after awarding his knighthood during a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Image: Queen Elizabeth II talks to Captain Sir Thomas Moore and his family after awarding his knighthood during a ceremony at Windsor Castle

The charity was set up in honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore, a 100-year-old war veteran who raised £39m for NHS Charities Together by walking 100 laps of his garden in April 2020.

Capt Sir Tom, who became a national hero and was personally knighted by the late Queen for his efforts, died in February 2021.

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A spokesman for the Charity Commission has said it will not comment while the inquiry is ongoing.

The commission opened a case into the charity in March 2021, a month after the veteran's death, and expanded it into a statutory inquiry in June last year.

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