Yesterday, in our latest update on the BBC Panorama investigation into charity pay and investments, we revealed that Tony Hall earned £392,000 in his final full year as chief executive of the Royal Opera House.

That seemed ironic enough given that Lord Hall, in his new role as BBC director general, is now charged with deciding whether or not to broadcast the Panorama programme.

But a bit more digging into the story by civilsociety.co.uk’s intrepid journalists has unearthed a whole new level of intrigue.

As it happens, the Royal Opera House receives a grant each year from the investments of the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund 2000. In the same financial year that Hall earned £392,000, the Fund gave £740,000 to the Opera House.

During that same year, one of the trustees of the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund was a woman called Olga Polizzi.

Olga Polizzi is married to William Shawcross.

Back in the summer, Mr Shawcross, in his role as chair of the Charity Commission, warned charities not to pay “disproportionate” salaries to their CEOs lest they bring the whole charitable sector into disrepute.

A few weeks later, we learned that Panorama was investigating charities’ pay and investments.

And now the BBC’s director general, a certain Lord Hall, will have the final say on whether or not this programme should air.

It’s becoming quite the soap opera….

 

 

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