Comic Relief criticized for "accumulating" £ 117m – while charity pleads for money

In his fundraising films, Comic Relief paints a dark picture of poor Britons who desperately need money to fight hunger, deprivation and homelessness.

But today, The Mail on Sunday may reveal that the charity has a cash flow of nearly 117 million pounds, nearly double the total donated on the day of Red Nose Day. .

Last night, critics criticized the heads of Comic Relief for having ambaded a considerable sum.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said, "It's clear that the generously-acclaimed British public will not be happy if their donations only boost the reserves of a well-funded charity.

"It's hard to see who the reserves really help, outside of the organization itself. I'm sure it was not there that people wanted to go with their generous gifts. "

The latest accounts published by Comic Relief also show that he spent £ 11.9 million on salaries in 2017, with 30 employees earning more than £ 60,000 and five people pocketing more than £ 100,000.

The news comes a week after The Mail on Sunday revealed that the BBC has been harshly criticized for allowing stars such as Ed Sheeran to paint a dark picture of Britain and effectively deliver "an advertisement for Jeremy Corbyn. ".

In a film, Lenny Henry, co-founder of this charity, warned that "true hunger is hitting a huge number of people in this country."

However, Comic Relief itself is in perfect financial health. According to its most recent figures, its reserves of £ 116.9 million in 2016-17 were up from £ 93.5 million the year before.

The lion's share of this sum is a balance of £ 66 million of donations not yet disbursed in the form of grants, plus a 50-million-pound war chest to ensure the smooth running of charity for six months in case of urgency, including a collapse of the market. value of its investments.

The MOH also learned that ministers had expressed concern about Comic Relief's spending.

The Department of International Development (Dfid), which has allocated money to taxpayers to fund some of the charity's projects, has asked for badurances that Comic Relief money was being spent for good causes rather only for operating expenses or for fraud.

The charity is currently investigating three allegations of fraud totaling £ 867,000.

In 2017, Liz Warner, Head of Comic Relief, badured Priti Patel, who was then Secretary of International Development, how she planned to "revise and tighten our systems" to solve these problems.

Last night, Comic Relief refused to give details about the comments of his comments. A source close to Dfid said: "We were wondering where all the donations of Dfid went to Comic Relief, especially since the charity had high staffing and administration costs."

Dfid said measures had been taken after Comic Relief had discovered "a fraud in a partner's program," adding, "The funds have been recovered and no taxpayer dollars have been lost" .

This year, the Comic Relief fundraiser, which included a four-wedding gathering and funeral ceremony featuring Hugh Grant and Lily James, raised more than £ 63 million, which is $ 8 million less than Previous call in 2017.

Last night, a spokesperson said, "Comic Relief is committed to ensuring that every charity book that comes directly from the public serves to help transform the lives of people facing poverty and injustice."

She added that no public money has been donated to the war chest and that Comic Relief is taking a zero tolerance approach to corruption.