BBC Mid-East review terms given

Michael Grade announced the review in May

Details of a review into the BBC's coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been published by the broadcaster's board of governors.

The review, announced in May, will look at BBC impartiality "with particular regard to accuracy, fairness, context, balance and bias, actual or perceived".

President of the British Board of Film Classification Sir Quentin Thomas will chair the five-person review panel.

It will start work this month and report to the governors in Spring 2006.

The board will then publish the panel's findings in full.

PANEL MEMBERS Sir Quentin Thomas (chair) President of the British Board of Film Classification Lord Eames Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Stewart Purvis Former editor-in-chief and chief executive of ITN; professor of television journalism, City University Philip Stephens Associate editor and columnist, Financial Times Elizabeth Vallance Former head Department of Politics, Queen Mary College, University of London; member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life; author; magistrate BBC 'must improve coverage'

The BBC has received criticism in the past for alleged bias in its coverage of the Middle East.

Sir Quentin, formerly political director in the Northern Ireland Office, described the conflict as a "complex and sensitive subject".

"Because of its importance, and because the BBC's coverage often attracts comment and criticism from all sides, a review of its impartiality, carried out independently both of the BBC and of interest groups, is appropriate," he said.

"The panel will ensure that, in the course of its work, all shades of opinion are considered and taken account of before we present our report to the board of governors."

The review will include output analysis carried out by Loughborough University and audience research by Opinion Leader Research.

The panel will also invite written submissions, call witnesses - which may include BBC staff - and consider licence-fee payers' complaints.

It is the second review to be conducted entirely outside of the BBC management team. The first looked at the BBC's coverage of Europe.

Announcing the review in his Goodman Lecture in May, the chairman of the BBC, Michael Grade, said impartiality was "something the BBC can never take for granted".

He said: "That's why the governors have commissioned a series of investigations into the impartiality of particular areas of BBC journalism over the past few years."