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The governors considered 14 separate final viewer crticisms in a summary of complaints ruled on by the board between January and March this year.

One complaint referred to 'The Ten O'Clock News' on August 1 2005, which was accused by one viewer of "racist and biased news coverage".

The viewer felt that the murder of Anthony Walker was featured because it was alleged that white men killed Walker, who was black, while the man charged with the murder of another murder victim Richard Whelan, whose death received no coverage on the day in question, was black.

The governors also refused to uphold a complaint by a listener that it had been guilty of homophobia, saying that the corporation had allowed homophobic material to be included on Chris Moles's breakfast show broadcast on Radio 1 on July 25 2005. Moyles had stated that he did not want to download a ringtone, because it was "gay".

The Jo Whiley show on Radio 1 on July 29 2005 was also accused of broadcasting "casual homophobia" during an interview with US rapper The Game, who had referred to gay men as "faggots" and "not real men" during an interview.

'The Catherine Tate Show' broadcast on BBC Two on August 4 last year also came in for criticism because it featured a character who is an overtly effeminate man constantly outraged at the widespread assumption that he is gay. The complainant took offence that the viewers were invited to laugh at the character's campness and "obvious" gayness.

Richard Tait, chairman of the governors' programme complaints committee, said: "During this quarter the committee received a wide variety of complaints on a range of editorial issues. Though none were upheld, the committee identified a number of learning points and management actions."

He added: "While we believe complaints handling in BBC management generally to be good, we also noted that in a number of cases appealed to the GPCC, less than perfect complaints handling contributed to the overall feeling of dissatisfaction."

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