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Michael Ball, the singer, has expressed his "disappointment" over a report that found a charity established in honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore was "mismanaged".
The 62 year old, who performed with the veteran on his charity single 'You'll Never Walk Alone', which raised funds for NHS Charities Together, stated it felt "almost like I don't want to talk about my association" after it was discovered that Captain Tom's family had "repeatedly benefitted" from the Captain Tom Foundation.
The Charity Commission's investigation, released on Thursday, revealed "repeated instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement" of the foundation by Sir Tom's daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, and her husband Colin.
The family have disputed the report's findings, claiming the report has taken a "serious toll" on their health and "unfairly tarnishing" their reputation.
When questioned about his response to the report on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Ball said: "Disappointed, and if you take yourself back to what was happening during that time, I'm doing my radio show on Radio 2, just come back with Covid, we don't know what's going to occur."
He recalled: "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. It was something I was so incredibly proud of for all the right motives, to see it twisted, really it's a real shame."
The probe also found that there was a misleading insinuation that profits from book sales would be funnelled into the foundation, yet £1.4 million from a book contract ended up in the pockets of the family business Club Nook.
No issues were flagged concerning the charity tune, reports the Mirror.
Captivated by the nation at 99 years old during the Covid crisis, Sir Tom endeared hearts whilst aiming to gather £1,000 for NHS charities by trekking 100 laps of his garden before his centennial birthday.
Surpassing expectations, his campaign garnered over £30 million by his 100th birthday.
The celebrated veteran climbed the charts with his single alongside Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir, which sold nearly 36,000 copies in just two days and secured the top spot in the UK singles chart in April 2020.
Following his passing at age 100 in February 2021, the emblematic song graced the ceremony at his funeral.
English (US) ·