Director general and head of news intervened over report on charities' investment policies, which was postponed in October

A controversial BBC Panorama investigation into charities including Comic Relief is set to be broadcast in early December following interventions by the corporation's director general and director of news.

The programme, which was at the centre of a row that drew in BBC director general Tony Hall in October after it was postponed, is expected to air on Tuesday 10 December.

Hall's personal pre-transmission intervention in the BBC1 current affairs documentary was prompted by claims that a string of executives had ruled themselves out of taking decisions about the programme, as a result of the BBC's longstanding ties with Comic Relief.

The Panorama charities documentary could have caused embarrassment for the BBC if it had aired in the run-up to Children in Need, which took place this year on 15 November, and had a negative impact on its fundraising activities.

The documentary reportedly examines how Comic Relief allegedly invested £150m of funds it had raised for up to eight years, before passing the money on to other causes. Some of the money is alleged to have been invested in tobacco firms and an arms company.

According to the BBC, the Panorama documentary was never just about Comic Relief but about a number of charities, understood to include Save the Children, and how they invest funds.

It is understood that since the programme was postponed earlier this autumn it has been reviewed by a number of news executives, including James Harding, director of BBC news and current affairs. Harding is understood to have asked the producers to go back and firm up the investigation.

Hall confirmed at the Voice of the Listener & Viewer autumn conference on Wednesday that the Panorama investigation would go ahead.

There has been speculation that some elements of the programme have been changed during the review process. When asked about such claims, Hall told MediaGuardian: "It's James's [Harding's] programme. He wants to get it right. It's quite right the director of news has views about programmes – it'll broadcast."

Sources close to one of the charities in the film said they had received a letter from Matchlight, the independent production company behind the Panorama film, in the past week confirming that the show would go ahead. The letter confirms that the BBC are expecting to air the programme on Tuesday 10 December.

Comic Relief, the Red Nose Day and Sport Relief fundraiser, has enjoyed a close relationship with the BBC stretching back nearly 30 years.

The BBC broadcasts the Red Nose Day and Sport Relief telethons. Danny Cohen, the BBC director of TV, and Tim Davie, the chief executive of commercial arm BBC Worldwide, are Comic Relief trustees and have had to recuse themselves from any senior management discussions about the Panorama documentary.

The BBC said in a statement: "BBC News and Current Affairs acts entirely independently of the wider BBC in commissioning and preparing programmes. It is simply wrong to suggest that the timing of the proposed Panorama investigation into the charity sector has in any way been influenced by the timing of Children in Need. The planned broadcast date of this investigation was delayed until we were satisfied that the programme met our robust editorial standards and we hope to schedule the programme to air in the near future."

Comic Relief said in a statement: "Comic Relief takes the business of making grants and managing the money so generously donated by the public extremely seriously. We're satisfied that our approach is wholly appropriate and meets all regulatory and legal requirements. We have nothing to hide and publish a full explanation on our website."

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