Tell the BBC: stuff Kelvin Mackenzie this Christmas

The BBC has decided that Kelvin Mackenzie, former editor of The Sun newspaper, should present its Christmas "news review of the year" on Radio 5.

This is the same man who, when 96 football fans were killed at Hillsborough in 1989, claimed that fans had urinated on policeman and stolen from the dead.

His newspaper eventually apologised, but only because the people of Liverpool, sick of The Sun's lies, boycotted the paper: Big business often develops a conscience when its pockets start getting empty.

But recently, Mackenzie declared that he wasn't sorry at all - he only apologised because he was told to. He stands by his disgusting slurs.

Some wounds will never heal - as one person said, "there will be 96 dinner tables missing a family member again this year" - but the apology did carry some weight at the time. Mackenzie has not just reopened those wounds, but has deliberately, once again, tried to hurt people who have been through so much already.

Given this, it’s appalling that the BBC has decided that he is fit to present such a programme. As usual, the BBC's response to complaints is, in a nutshell, "he's controversial, so some people love him and some people hate him".

We believe that the BBC has missed the point, as it so often does.

Mackenzie's involvement should be scrapped immediately and the BBC should apologise for its insensitivity.

Update: George has written to the BBC Director General on this issue. Please click here to read the letter

Update: The BBC Director General has replied to George. Please click here to read the letter

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