Captain Sir Tom Moore’s family said they were treated “unfairly and unjustly” in a report into their association with the charity set up in his name.
The Ingram-Moore family said the Charity Commission’s two-year inquiry has taken a “serious toll” on the family’s health, “unfairly tarnishing” their name.
They described the process as “unjust and excessive”, adding that the charities watchdog had a “predetermined agenda”.
Their statement said: “True accountability demands transparency, not selective storytelling.
“We remain dedicated to upholding Captain Sir Tom’s legacy and want the public to know, that there has never been any misappropriation of funds or unauthorised payments from the charity’s bank account, by any member of our family.”
The Ingram-Moore family also said that they “never took a penny” from public donations when Sir Tom raised millions for NHS charities by walking laps of his garden during the coronavirus lockdown.
They said it is “deeply painful” for them to think people might believe otherwise.
The millions raised by the late Sir Tom and donated to NHS Charities Together before the foundation was formed were not part of the commission’s inquiry.
The report found a misleading implication that donations from book sales would be made to the the Captain Tom Foundation.
An advance of almost £1.5 million was paid to Club Nook, a company of which the Ingram-Moores are directors, for a three-book deal and none of that has gone to the foundation, the charities watchdog said.
The Ingram-Moore family accused the Charity Commission of a “breach of privacy” as an extract of a private book deal with Penguin Random House was “publicly disclosed”.
They went on: “Such an action raises serious concerns about privacy protections.
“If a confidential contract, complete with privacy clauses, can be so casually released, what does this mean for the privacy of others, public figures or otherwise?
“The publisher paid Captain Sir Tom a fee, it was his and he decided what to do with it.”
The family added that “significant fees” from the book deal were paid to the literary agent, legal and PR professionals, with portions of the money used to support the Captain Tom Foundation.
