BBC 'shelves' Panorama exposé of Comic Relief

The documentary is understood to examine how the charity allegedly invested £150 million of its funds for up to eight years, before handing the money to the causes for which it had been raised.

Some of the money was allegedly invested in tobacco firms and an arms company.

By the end of last year, the charity was allegedly sitting on £261million in a mixture of shares, bonds and cash.

The six-month investigation also explores how staffing costs at Comic Relief have allegedly almost doubled from £7.1million a year in 2008 to £13.5 million by 2012.

The programme was scheduled to air later this month but is reported to have been postponed.

A BBC source told the Daily Mirror: “It has already been put back once and the worry is this investigation will never see the light of day.

“This is causing huge problems within the Corporation, opening a can of worms some would rather stayed closed.

"We’re struggling to find other execs to take the place of those who ruled themselves out due to a conflict of interest. This is the BBC in full-on post-Savile self-flagellation mode.”

BBC 'shelves' Panorama exposé of Comic Relief

A bit about Comic Relief.

"Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief.

The charity states that its aim is to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people, which we believe requires investing in work that addresses people's immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice".

One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the "Golden Pound Principle" where every single donated pound (£) is spent on charitable projects. All operating costs, such as staff salaries, are covered by corporate sponsors, or interest earned on money waiting to be distributed."


I have always cast a suspicious eye over big charities and where the money actually goes and if this is correct, it is an absolute disgrace.

I always new these big charity events were a scam!!

The BBC has a right to air that program for us the TV licence payers.

If it aint banks its charity's.

When will we stand up to this corruption!!!!

Okay - I'll say it.

Time to end the reign of the BBC

Its become nothing more than a government style factory of idiots, molesters and crooks - which we cant vote a new party into We dont think there is a problem because all we see if the selected, highly polished shows and programs and never think about how our public money is being pissed away behind the scenes. Look at C4 or even at C5!!!! They did all that without a massive TV license fee to back them!!! AND THEY ARE BETTER!

Im saddened by this news about Comic Relief but not surprised at all.

BBC your time is over and we want to trust you, but you have been robbing us for our TV sets for ages now and I am at least, sick of it.

As usual comic relief..... No ones laughing.

I stopped donating to any of these big charities long ago after one of the big bank bank collapses - BCCI I think it was - when amongst the named creditors who lost £Millions were many of the big name chariries. I used to donate, rather naively thinking the money went to do good, not to play the stockmarkets and make money for the investors and execs.

When those charities are seen setting up expensive city offices for their execs, at huge expense, then there is something very wrong indeed and it appears to be just another money making scheme and jobs for the boys to get their noses into the trough for a good feed.

Any of those execs at the BBC blocking this airing of Panorama should be immediately sacked and stripped of all benefits, which the license fee paying public fund.

Theres always been something about rich celebrities asking for my money that I just couldn't trust.

Nothing new from the BBC, they hid Jimmy Saville for so long, this doesnt shock me in the slightest.

Horus12

I have always cast a suspicious eye over big charities and where the money actually goes and if this is correct, it is an absolute disgrace.

Me too .... and how much of what is sent to the right places from our end, actually makes it where to where it was intended ... ie ... how much isnt syphoned off as admin costs etc, or even just outright stolen ...

Comic Relief orders probe into Ugandan charity as £200,000 given by the British public 'goes missing'.

£50,000 of the sum handed to the Busoga Association UK went to consultants, it is alleged.
Up to £200,000 is still unaccounted for, it has also been claimed.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

Charity can be huge money making business i guess ...

reply to post by Biigs


Ok, nice rant but what was the point? The BBC has nothing, operationally speaking, to do with Comic Relief. All they do is support the once yearly TV show. I assume, judging by your indignation, that you will also be railing against Sainsbury's (who sell the merchandise) and BT (who handle the comms), as they have the same level of involvement in Comic relief as the BBC does.

And secondly, C4 and C5 better than the BBC? I doubt it. C4 does some good programming of it's own, but the vast majority is cack. C5? Well, that is the biggest, steamiest pile of crap ever to grace the airwaves and has always been that way.

Now, the fact that the BBC even greenlit this episode is a sign they aren't actually trying to cover anything up and it even says in the article the only reason the BBC has pushed it back is because none of the exec want to be seen to be acting inappropriately in any way shape or form, they have conflict of interests (ie, they are probably also involved in the CR programming) and to not rule themselves out would open themselves for criticism there.

I agree, these huge charities have always sort of had me asking questions when they start up every year.

Its like government, where you dont seem to know all the info, where does the money go, who has a slice, who pays for the wages, petrol etc to all those involved.

The amount of money raised over time is huge, and we seem every year to be giving to the same causes.

Also in the very country where these start, there so much poverty and child neglect that to me it should go to them first and then abroad later with whats left.

Excellent for bringing this up, as didnt see it anywhere else.

Once this goes out to the masses, the BBC will have no option but to show it, and wait for the fall out.

Charity is in the main just another means of extortion and exploitation of ordinary folk. Rich celebs asking the less fortunate to give what should actually come from those that have.

How much goes on admin? I bet half.

Investing the monies donated to charity and delaying the delivery of those funds for 8 years is immoral and downright disgusting! So them monies needed at the time the charity was in need never arrived. So helpful are they not!

Furthermore investing in companies that actually contribute to the need for charity in the first place is f..k..g unbelievable!!

Down with the BBC and the elite!

multichild
Once this goes out to the masses, the BBC will have no option but to show it, and wait for the fall out.

What "fall out"? The BBC has nothing to do with Comic Relief...

Don't get em wrong, I have a major problem with these big charities, especially Comic Relief (going for 25 years and raised billions, but people are still in the same state as when they started?), but lets point the finger at the right person, shall we? The BBC has bog all to do with it.

I am quite, quite confused why people are angry at the BBC over the actions of Comic Relief. I think some assume the BBC run the charity because they air their programme.

reply to post by stumason


Because the comic side of it is provided by almost exclusively BBC celebrities and presenters? Doing comic gags on BBC shows, BBC BBC BBC etc

I know the actual charity side is a separate entity, like the national lottery.

You would expect that the BBC, funded by the UK by a telly tax, would have looked into somthing they back on such a scale before now - but ofc this is not the case.

Is it the BBCs fault that the charity is a bad joke? No.
Should the BBC been a part of making sure what it shows for an entire evening once a year is legit? DAMN RIGHT

reply to post by Segenam

the main reason i do not donate to organised charities is because they are allowed to keep 80% of the donations for wages and admin .
the only charities that i donate to these days are the small ones that are collecting funds to send a child somewhere for medical treatment .

I used to be very uncertain regarding charity. A point was reached where I had to go either one way or the other, or lose integrity.
Although atheist down to my socks, I find much of value in the bible, in this case the good Samaritan.

The points I got were :-
1) Its about something that happens right where you are -- it impinges on your day.
2) It happens "on the road" so the one needing help could be anyone at all.
3) You are going to have to abandon your own (anticipated) journey for a while, and get involved. Maybe a bit dusty.
4) It's going to cost you.
5) You try and see it through to a satisfactory conclusion.

I understand the biblical use of "charity" is a translation which could be equally well expressed as "love." Personally I prefer "kindness."
You can't really outsource or delegate that.

Comic relief took advantage of a lot of folk whose hearts were touched by scenes of misery and pain in Africa. Perhaps this will have helped them see the subtler signs of need around them, and the impossibility of having others do good in your name.

I see this as an important part of my own education, and a challenge which we all face, and the idea of paying some "Charity" to do it for me, would be a monumental cop-out.

mistersmith.

I stopped paying my licence fee this year because I don't watch it much and no way will I give them money to pay executives millions plus so called presenters that are not worth the money.
As for their so called charities, there so be a complete breakdown where every penny is accounted for all the time.
I don't give them anything to that and also the cold callers who call at my door.
If I want to help anyone, I buy them got rolls, pies etc for the poor unfortunate on our streets and know it helps them a lot.

stumason
I am quite, quite confused why people are angry at the BBC over the actions of Comic Relief. I think some assume the BBC run the charity because they air their programme.

There are two issues at stake here. One is the behaviour of the Comic Relief Organisation itself, and the other is the reported reluctance of the BBC to show a documentary about the subject.

I'm not sure embarassment is the only reason for the reluctance. They may be two different organisations, but I put it to you that both groups of people, in their different ways, are part of the great establishment mafia of "political correctness" which tries to run this country whatever government is in office. There has to be a suspicion that the members of this elite at the BBC are trying to cover the backs of their brethren in Comic Relief, and that a documentary exposing the faults of a group with more conservative connections would have been broadcast with much greater readiness.

reply to post by stumason


I think people have every right to have a go at the BBC afterall they have shelved the Panorama programme that would expose the shennanigans going on with 'Comic Relief'.

They are more than happy to let them use their channel as a vehicle for fund raising, so to expose them and their investments using the money raised is slightly embarrassing.

This echoes the Jimmy Savile Panorama programme that was shelved, so I do not find this surprising unfortunately.

reply to post by stumason


May I ask why are you protecting the BBC? I think that your a shill for the BBC as I remember when I did a thread about the BBC and you posted defending them. I think now is the time for the so called tv licence to be abolished as this tax is being used for criminal activities and anyone who funds that are guilty of committing a crime. I'm sorry but the BBC is an evil entity filled with people who are monsters. I'm talking about the ones who are hidden from the public eye.

stumason

multichild
Once this goes out to the masses, the BBC will have no option but to show it, and wait for the fall out.

What "fall out"? The BBC has nothing to do with Comic Relief...

Don't get em wrong, I have a major problem with these big charities, especially Comic Relief (going for 25 years and raised billions, but people are still in the same state as when they started?), but lets point the finger at the right person, shall we? The BBC has bog all to do with it.

I am quite, quite confused why people are angry at the BBC over the actions of Comic Relief. I think some assume the BBC run the charity because they air their programme.

OK using your logical process and by insisting this has nothing to do with the BBC then the BBC should have no qualms about showing this investigation to us licence fee payers, if the BBC has nothing to hide regards Comic Relief then they will have nothing to worry about will they?

I remember the BBC doing a whole hour on some young school kid who bought a few sweets with some of the charity money he'd collected!
Think about that! The BBC used their immense broadcasting power to destroy a young school boy because he bought some sweets!
That should tell us all we need to know about those scumbags.

Anyone remember the phone call scandal's where tv companies continued collecting the money even though the competitions were already over?

reply to post by VoidHawk

I completely agree how quickly and easily people forget all these media scandals.