Captain Tom Foundation's CEO left 'months ago' after regulator investigation into branded merchandise

10 July 2023, 15:52 | Updated: 10 July 2023, 16:04

Captain Tom Foundation CEO Jack Gilbert left the charity months ago, it has been reported. Picture: Getty/Alamy

By Chay Quinn

The Captain Tom Moore Foundation's CEO left the beleaguered charity nine months ago without a public announcement, it has been reported.

Jack Gilbert was brought in to firefight the scandal-hit organisation after an inquiry was launched into the charity not blocking the decision to allow Captain Tom branded merchandise sold by a private company owned by the late fundraiser's daughter.

The Charity Commission was concerned over Club Nook Ltd, owned by Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin, was selling the merch.

The Foundation made £809,000 in its first year - after the £38 million raised by its namesake Captain Sir Tom Moore during the pandemic was donated to the NHS through the Charities Together organisation.

Hannah Ingram-Moore and husband Colin have been mired in controversy over their handling of the Foundation set up in her late father's name. Picture: Getty

Captain Sir Tom Moore died in 2021 after raising £36 million for the NHS during the pandemic while walking laps of his garden. Picture: Alamy

Mr Gilbert was a founding trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and was appointed in 2022 after the charity was slammed for spending more on admin fees than it did on donations in its first year of operation.

When he was appointed, Mr Gilbert said: “My appointment marks the start of an important period of transformation for the Captain Tom Foundation."

But he has reportedly left the organisation as of last October, according to the Times, as the charity now faces backlash over the building of a spa complex without planning permission at Hannah Ingram-Moore's £1.2million mansion.

It comes after a former friend of the departed veteran said Captain Sir Tom Moore 'would have hated' his family's building of a spa complex when they only had permission to build a museum honouring his achievements.

The Captain Tom Foundation has stopped taking money from donors after planning chiefs ordered that an unauthorised building in the home of the daughter of the late charity fundraiser be demolished. Picture: Alamy

Hannah and Colin have been told to get rid of the complex from their holiday in Spain because it did not have planning permission. They are appealing the decision.

One woman who lives near the house in Bedfordshire said Captain Tom would not be pleased with how events have unfolded.

"I knew Captain Tom quite well and he would have hated what has gone on," the unnamed woman told the Mail.

A spokesperson for Central Bedfordshire Council, the planning authority for the area, 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.

Neighbours in the village of Marston Moretaine described being appalled at the revelation, describing the C-shaped block as an eyesore.

"It's a horrible monstrosity," one elderly resident told The Sun.