Hannah Ingram-Moore -Victim or Villain?

[MrsImFedUpOfTheWeather]

I'm inclined to think we've been scammed. Am I being unreasonable?

I read that she had asked for more than £80k to run the charity but it was refused (by the charities commission). Anyhow does all seem dodgy, and as sincere as the old chap might have been, it was all whipped up into a bonkers kind of frenzy. Glad to hear the money did help the NHS to some small degree.

Who she exploited. It made me uneasy from the start (not being smug, I worked as an advisor to the charity sector for a time and sadly this does go on a at a smaller scale from time to time)

Rust abbot the astronomer?

YY User Anyone who said anything questioning this at the time was a Covidiot and a conspiracy theorist.

Same!

I've been cynical about her since the very beginning and have constantly said that everyone went a bit mad about it all. I've also said that HE didn't raise the money, anyone who donated helped to raise the money, he was just a face for it. BUT as other posters have said any money that was donated as part of the £30 million to NHS charities will be safe. The only money in question is anything that was donated to the captain tom foundation directly which was created later on. It's the captain Tom foundation that she was paid to be manager of. She has no say or no control on any of the £30 million.

I think that was Russell Grant. Russ Abbot was a ‘comedian’ in the 80s.

I vaguely recall some fairly robust threads about it on Mumsnet at the time....

Ah - well I'm an idiot then, but I only donated because I wanted to help. I totally fell for it. What an idiot.

I understand the dodgy stuff all happened after Captain Tom's death. Hannah I-M seemingly planned exactly how to gain personal benefit from his fame. I think it is sad the whole episode, which provided light relief for some during a dark time, has been tarnished by this opportunist.

Laura Dodsworth called it out in The Book That Must Not Be Named. And she got a lot of shit for it

But was there anything at the time suggesting she had dodgy motives? Asking as I genuinely don’t know. Not trying to disagree with you!

The money was given to NHS Charities Together and was distributed in stages to every NHS charity in the U.K. I can say this with 100% certainty. Every stage had restrictions attached to it - eg this portion of money must be used for staff wellbeing, this portion must be used for community outreach work, research and so on. How different charities and Trusts have applied that is down to them.
NHS charities cannot fund anything usually funded by the NHS. For example - PPE, beds, all the every day stuff. It has to be the ‘above and beyond’. So, nicer furniture, upgraded patient and staff areas that are a higher spec than the standard. So it may not come across as the best use but there will be reasons why, likely decided by the Trust.
The money fundraised originally isn’t in question.

However, her behaviour and actions after the initial fundraising and when they set up their own foundation? 100% dodgy. How she hasn’t been found out before now is beyond me.

How do you know he’d been exploited? Not all old people are doddery and kind. He could have been on the grift from the start.

I don't think there is any doubt that the money for the NHS went to NHS charities is there? I mean the Foundation didn't have control of that- I think the issue is with what happened subsequently, or have I misunderstood?

I don’t think you’re an idiot OP. You did something in good faith that seemed helpful at the time. So did lots of others. That’s not idiotic.

She's definitely a villain. I don't think she exploited him though. People automatically assume elderly people are vulnerable and stupid. He knew exactly what he was doing and would have known it wasn't on to travel when everyone else was in lockdown. He was trying to earn money for his family.

Absolute scammer. I hope she faces criminal charges.

@WinterBerry7 thanks for answering my question. So people shouldn't feel bad if they donated initially, I don't think, even if in hindsight the actions of the daughter are questionable, that initial money did make its way into the NHS charitable arm.

I don’t think people should be suggesting you’re an idiot, or you should consider yourself one. You did what you thought was right. I feel sad that as a result of this, people are saying they won’t give to charity anymore, even though I can understand why they might feel that way.

The money raised from his walking went to the NHS. It's the Tom Moore foundation that was set up after that has issues. Payments for appearances that should have gone to the foundation went to her personal business.

You're not an idiot! The money went to a good place (if you donated to nhs charities) and has been used for good.

No, you’re right. The money’s gone to the right place. The issue is the mendacity of Hannah IG. I imagine her dad would be ashamed of her, he was a proper old school gentleman.

It's a fucking Mansion by my standards - what's it missing to qualify - a fucking moat?

How much has been raised by the charity after the initial £38m does anyone know?