The Return Of Kelvin McFilth

The campaign by the Murdoch Sun to re-establish the paper’s sales on Merseyside has, for the past 25 years, progressed not necessarily to its advantage, as many in the city of Liverpool and the surrounding area have refused to forgive the totally untrue allegations made following the Hillsborough stadium disaster. The paper made its first apology more than a decade ago, as the Guardian noted.

That's what I bladdy think of youse bladdy Scouse drongoes!!

“In July 2004, the Sun said it was ‘truly sorry’ and that its false allegations were ‘the most terrible mistake in its history’ … Less than a year later, in February 2005, the Sun's managing editor Graham Dudman, admitted in a BBC documentary that the Hillsborough coverage was ‘the worst mistake in our history’”. That there was no will to forgive the nakedly cynical efforts of the Murdoch faithful was soon justified.

Yes, “a year later, old wounds were re-opened after [Kelvin] MacKenzie was quoted as saying at a private business lunch with a Newcastle law firm: ‘All I did wrong was tell the truth ... I was not sorry then and I'm not sorry now because we told the truth’”. MacKenzie, memorably and rightly characterised by Private Eye as Kelvin McFilth, had made the decision alone to run the offending - and untrue - front page story.

But after the Hillsborough Independent Panel gave its findings, not only did the Sun have another go at saying sorry, but MacKenzie almost did the same. “Today I offer my profuse apologies to the people of Liverpool for that headline … I too was totally misled. Twenty-three years ago I was handed a piece of copy from a reputable news agency in Sheffield in which a senior police officer and a senior local MP were making serious allegations against fans in the stadium … I had absolutely no reason to believe that these authority figures would lie and deceive over such a disaster”.

Hillsborough memorial at Anfield

Putting aside the inconvenient fact that MacKenzie knew exactly how the authorities used papers like his to dump blame on those unable to defend themselves, it was immediately dismissed as being “too little, too late”. There was also the incident on BBC Question Time in 2007 when MacKenzie said he only apologised because Murdoch told him to.

But at least Kel was no longer anything to do with the Sun. Until yesterday, when news came that the Sun had re-employed MacKenzie as a twice-weekly pundit. As the Liverpool Echo observed, “The former editor’s column is set to appear in the paper every Monday and Thursday from January 12. He was described by the Sun as ‘legendary’, with the paper claiming Mackenzie, will be sticking up for the man and woman in the street and sticking it to anyone who takes them for granted”.

“Sticking up”? The only “sticking up” coming with MacKenzie’s appointment is Rupert Murdoch saying to all those his paper smeared 25 years ago “you won’t buy my paper, so screw you”. All those apologies were not even “too little, too late”. Murdoch cares only about his pile of money. And so do his miserable hacks and pundits.

Until there really is Justice For The 96, the Sun should remain a pariah. Everywhere.