Michael Ball 'disappointed' by Captain Tom charity
PA MediaWest End performer Michael Ball has said he was "disappointed" by the report which found a charity set up in Captain Sir Tom Moore's honour had been "mismanaged".
The pair collaborated on the charity single You'll Never Walk Alone to raise funds for NHS Charities Together, selling almost 36,000 copies in the first 48 hours.
A report by the Charity Commission found Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband displayed a "pattern of behaviour" in which they personally benefitted from the Captain Tom Foundation. There were no findings connected to the charity single.
Ball said: "It was something I was so incredibly proud of for all the right motives, to see it twisted, really it's a real shame."
Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Ball said he was left feeling "disappointed".
"I hear about this story of him, get him on the radio, we've got a bond, the money starts coming in, and it grew, and then I had this idea of this record.
"It's entirely, including from Tom, entirely altruistic, entirely just wanting a focus, something for people to bond with, to show the good, and now it's almost like I don't want to talk about my association."
The World War Two veteran became a household name for walking up and down the driveway of his home in Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
In April 2020, Capt Sir Tom and Ball recorded a duet alongside the NHS Voices of Care Choir, which reached number one in the UK singles chart.
At the time, Ball said: "There isn't one of us who has failed to be inspired by Captain Tom Moore.
"It is one of the single greatest honours of my career to sing with this genuine national hero."
However, a report found there had been a misleading implication that donations from book sales would go to the foundation, when instead the proceeds were paid to the family company Club Nook.
David Holdsworth, chief executive of the Charity Commission said: "The charity set up in his name has not lived up to that legacy of others before self."
He said the report had found repeated instances of a "blurring of boundaries between private and charitable interests."
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