Daisy Souster, a 31-year-old public relations specialist, claimed that she was shut out by the family of Captain Sir Tom Moore, whom she helped promote the charity appeal of. In the early stages of the fundraising campaign, she provided the family with PR services.
Souster asserted on her LinkedIn profile that she received hostile instructions from Captain Sir Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore. The daughter allegedly told Souster she had no standing to share her contributions to the extensive charity appeal.
Captain Sir Tom, through toiling in his own backyard in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, raised in excess of £38 million for NHS Charities Together in April 2020. The renowned philanthropist passed away in February 2021.
In her earlier association with the family, Mrs. Souster professed to have set up the JustGiving page, organized the widely known Captain Sir Tom’s social media interactions while also writing and distributing the press release that put Captain Sir Tom in the national spotlight.
However, Souster’s work with the Ingram-Moores abruptly ended in June 2020. She recalled having the support and gratitude of the family initially, but the relationship deteriorated for reasons she claimed were not made known to her.
Following her dismissal, Souster’s contributions were also stripped by the Ingram-Moores. Hannah Ingram-Moore notified Souster, who had been nominated for five PRWeek awards, that she had no entitlement to discuss her association with the project, a decision that according to Haymarket PR, also affected Captain Sir Tom’s entries in the PRWeek awards.
Subsequently, Mrs. Souster made the decision to disassociate herself from the family entirely. The situation, she said, caused substantial distress and resulted in her work accreditation being revoked; a harsh predicament given she was caring for a young child with her furloughed partner, while the world was locked down due to the pandemic.
However, Souster considers Captain Tom as a beacon of hope in the darkest time and laments that his incredible work is being overshadowed by the ongoing debacle.
Interestingly, just before Souster parted ways with the family, Captain Sir Tom revealed plans to publish his autobiography, “Tomorrow Will Be a Good Day”, Where the PR campaign was credited to Hannah Ingram-Moore.
In a recent interview held earlier this month, Hannah admitted to keeping the profits amounting to an estimated £800,000 from her father’s three books. She argued that her father entrusted the funds to her, and no prior agreement suggested giving it to charity.
It remains unclear, however, if Mrs. Souster’s abrupt departure was connected to the book deal controversy.
