Captain Tom’s family ‘changed’ and ‘cut me out’, publicist says, despite work on ‘life-changing’ announcement

A publicist who says she helped to launch the Captain Tom Foundation feels she was “cut out” by his family weeks after she worked on one of the most uplifting stories during the pandemic.

Daisy Souster said she helped the Ingram-Moore family with their initial public relations when there was “no PR plan” in place.

Ms Souster, 31, claimed she wrote the “life-changing press release”, set up the fundraising page, and ran the Captain Tom Twitter (now X) page when the story broke of the war veteran walking 100 laps of his garden in April 2020 to raise money for the NHS.

Sir Tom went on to raise more than £38m for the health service as it battled against the coronavirus crisis and his family set up the Captain Tom Foundation charity in June 2020.

After an initial “special time” working for the family, Ms Souster said in a LinkedIn post that her relationship with them suddenly stopped for reasons “unknown” to her.

She wrote: “I had to cut ties with the family when they cut me out and told me I was no longer able to talk about the work I had done.

“I would like to make it very clear that initially, the family were extremely supportive of me and thankful for all that I had done, but for reasons unknown to me, they changed.”

Read more:
What has happened and why is there an inquiry?
NHS charity distances itself from foundation

The publicist, who provided PR services to the family’s firm Maytrix, had been nominated for several awards and had informed the family of the news.

She said the Ingram-Moores “told me to go for it and would be on my table cheering me on”.

Yet, a week later, she claimed Captain Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, told her she had “no right” to talk about her work or involvement with the PR.

After this, Ms Souster said she “severed ties with the family”.

She said the abrupt switch in attitude by the family caused her “untold distress” as she began to see the credit for her work “taken away” from her.

“Let’s be honest I’m unlikely to ever break a story like that again. It was truly one of a kind – and it certainly should have remained a positive, incredible one at that,” she said.

Ms Souster said she had “no involvement” with them or the Captain Tom Foundation after the veteran’s 100th birthday.

Sir Tom died in February 2021 as a centenarian.

Shortly after his death, the Charity Commission opened a probe into the foundation set up in his name.

The charity, which has run for over three years, is likely to close down following the investigation into its management after a hearing to decide the fate of an unauthorised spa at his daughter’s home was heard.

Meanwhile, Mrs Ingram-Moore admitted keeping £800,000 from the three books Sir Tom wrote before he died – despite the prologue of one of them saying the money would go to the charity in his name.

She said it was what her father wanted.

Sky News has contacted the Ingram-Moore family for comment.