One of the Captain Tom Foundation’s long-standing trustees has stepped down, plunging the charity into further controversy.
Solicitor Simon DeMaid, from Milton Keynes, left his role at the charity on November 27, according to the Sun. The not-for-profit, named after the former British Army officer who became a hero by raising millions for the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic, has raised £39million for organisations supporting the elderly.
The other two trustees are Stephen Jones and Captain Tom Moore’s son-in-law Colin Ingram-Moore – the latter of whom Mr DeMaid reportedly tried to have removed from the board. Hannah Ingram-Moore previously quit as CEO after it emerged that her companies and personal bank account were raking in thousands from the foundation.
According to Companies House records, DeMaid, a partner at Howes Percival law firm, ceased his directorship of the company attached to the charity. He has also been removed as a trustee on the Charities Commission website.
The Times reported in July that there was an alleged “wedge” between Colin and the other two trustees with the relationship having “broken down to such an extent that the two trustees investigated how they could remove him from the board”.
His exit comes shortly after that of Jack Gilbert, who replaced Hannah as CEO but left last October after just six months to “reduce all operational costs to an absolute minimum”.
The foundation’s articles of association, which outlines the rules and regulations surrounding it, states there had to be three trustees, rather than two – but while the latest annual report says three potential trustees were waiting to come on board, they “all withdrew their applications”.
DeMaid and Jones also reportedly wanted to drop Captain Tom’s name and then rebrand the charity to “championing the elderly” after it became the subject of intense scrutiny over its accounts, according to the Sun. The charity currently remains dormant and is not accepting donations until the the Charities Commission’s inquiry is complete.
