Hannah Ingram-Moore gave a lengthy interview to Good Morning Britain, where she was heavily questioned and criticised by hosts Rob Rinder and Kate Garraway about her use of the charity’s funds
Captain Tom Moore’s daughter made a series of admissions in an interview with Good Morning Britain.
Hannah Ingram-Moore was asked if she had any shame and what her father would have thought of all that has happened following his death. During an interview with hosts Kate Garraway and Robert Rinder, Hannah squirmed as she was asked about the £1.5 milliona advance from the publishers around the three books Sir Tom wrote before his death
She was also quizzed about the spa building, described as a memorial for her father – which was knocked down – as well as writing her own self-published book on loss to help others.
Here are the biggest bombshells from her interview as she attempted to explain a string of ‘errors’ and opened up about her own finances and the “cathartic” nature of writing her own book.
Taking back control
Speaking about her new self-published book, she said: “My mother died a very long slow death from dementia, which is why my father moved in with us in the first place. I think we probably buried the loss of her because my father moved in.
Hannah spoke of her new book in her lengthy interview (
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PA)
“It was truly magical. Of course, then he died in a very public way and the world was grieving for him and not just us … I realised that so many people weren’t able to discuss loss … As the headlines swirled, and we lost control of any sense of the truth, I was looking out and seeing the lie being much more interesting than the truth behind it so I had to bury my own grief.”
She added: “Writing the book was cathartic, it was a way to put my loss down. But I didn’t want it to be all about me, it was touching those people who came to talk to me about their loss.”
£1.5 million spend
Rob later asked Hannah about the £1.5 million advance the family received for the three books, which he said were made clear that they would “go in support of the foundation”. She was then asked how much of that money actually ended up in the foundation?
“It was going back five years ago now. The book contract was between my father and the publisher,” Hannah told him. Rob then asked if he had signed that contract or if she had signed it. “I tell you why before you answer. The publisher said you signed that contract,” h he then told her as she went to explain.
“He signed that contract with Penguin Random House and I signed to say where the money was going on his behalf. He was alive and he decided. It never said anywhere that sales would go to the charity, not us,” she said, “We agreed it would go to support the launch of the charity and money from the book revenue did support the charity … There’s no signature to say that it would go to the charity. There was never any contract with the charity ever.”
When asked how much went to the charity, she added: “I don’t think it’s helpful for anyone because every time there’s a number, it just gets banded around – tens of thousands went in.”
Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, was banned from running a charity after a probe by the Charity Commission into the foundation set up in his name (
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Getty Images)
£18,000 pay out
Hannah was also questioned on whether she was paid £18,000 to judge Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards, with Rob also saying that the charity had redeemed £2,000 of that money.
“The relationship with Virgin pre-dated the charity. That relationship started way before the charity,” she explained, “He got paid, other judges got paid. The relationship continued with me, with the initial intention not to involve the charity. It was my idea to say let’s include them and let’s make sure they get some money. All that judging takes a lot of time.”
Foundation wage
Hannah was paid £60,000 for running the foundation for nine months but insisted she didn’t “ask or demand” a specific salary. She told Rob and Kate: “I didn’t ask or demand. I was asked what I was earning, I told them what I was earning. The charity asked me. There was no demand, there was no ‘I won’t do it unless you pay me that.’ In the end, it was a negotiation and when they offered me the salary … What I was offered and accepted in the end was £85,000. My role could only ever last for nine months, I was employed for three months at a time for a maximum of nine months. So what I earned was about £60,000.”
Feelings of shame
In a poignant moment from the chat, Rob asked Hannah if she felt any shame. She told him: “When I look back at the last five years, we know that we own the truth. What I can’t do is sit here and persuade everyone to believe our reality …” as Kate stepped in to say people feel betrayed over what she had done.
Hannah was interviewed live on Good Morning Britain today (
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ITV“If you look back to that dark time of Covid, and we as a family were in the same position as everyone else, and we said to my father why don’t you walk up and down a lot of times, and that’s what is being forgotten,” she said, as Kate replied that no one would forget Captain Tom’s spirit but said that “people feel you’ve done something to damage the legacy”.
“There was no wilful mismanagement, no will to do anything but support the legacy. My father was there with us, we said how can we continue this legacy? … And that was when a friend said why don’t you set up a charity. We didn’t go away and set it up, other people set it up,” she insisted about the charity.
Father’s reaction
Hannah was then asked: “What would your father make of you taking £18,000 pounds, what would he think of the £1.5million that was kept. Do you think that’s what he would have wanted?”
She doubled down on her response, saying: “He was alive when he was paid that money. Neither he – he signed the contract… No, he lived with us and we were all equal. We didn’t think of him diminished man.
“He was paid that money as an advance, him, and he decided where it went. We didn’t take it, he was paid it and not a penny was received by him and us once those books went on sale. The money was paid to him as an advance. He decided where it went … Charity money didn’t pay for the building or the hot tub. It was our personal money on our land.”
Planning error
During the lengthy chat, Hannah was also quizzed on why the foundation’s name was used on the planning application for the spa block – which was dubbed a special memorial space for Captain Tom.
“We did not ever intend for it to say the foundation’s name on it. We did sign it, and we’ve always said it was an error. It should not have had the foundation on it. That building had all the memorabilia in it. It was for legacy. It’s gone. It’s a building that’s not there anymore… we’ve always said we didn’t get it all right. He was paid that money for the books,” Hannah said.
In an earlier part of the chat, she said: “The building doesn’t exist anymore. It’s taken down. What is there left to talk about. It’s history.”
