Turner also commented on the length of time taken by the BBC to address the complaints.
BBC studios.
Photo: AP [file]
"The complaint about the Six Day War article was first made by me in June 2007, and about the Har Homa report in January 2008. Even now the BBC Trust has not directed any remedial action, other than the internal circulation of the decision and its publication in an obscure corner of its Web site," he said. "Bowen's article has been on the BBC Web site for all this time, and was advertised for months by a prominent button on the main Middle East News Page."
Turner claimed that Bowen's reporting had an impact on the recent rise of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK.
"These delays have allowed Mr. Bowen and his colleagues to continue their biased coverage of Israel, which I believe has been a significant factor in the recent serious rise in anti-Semitic attacks in the UK."
This claim was also taken up by British journalist and author Chas Newkey-Burden, who said: "It is extraordinary to think that the BBC entrusts a man such as Bowen with coverage of such a monumentally important issue. As we saw during Operation Cast Lead, anti-Israel distortion contributes to the atmosphere of hate that leads to violence against Jews on the streets of Britain."
The Zionist Federation of the UK said that Bowen's position as Middle East editor of a public service broadcaster "is untenable in the light of the ESC's findings."
In a statement, the ZF said: "The ZF calls on the government to bring the BBC under the full regulation of OFCOM, like all other broadcasting media. The ZF calls on the Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee to hold the BBC to account in this matter and in others relating to its coverage of the Middle East, for example its continuing refusal to publish the Balen Report despite a recent Law Lords decision.
The ZF said also that the ESC needed to examine whether the BBC's complaints procedure was fair and met contemporary standards in public sector governance.
