Kelvin MacKenzie has been referred to the attorney general over an article he wrote about the Hillsborough disaster in the Sun, it has emerged.
It was considered for possible contempt of court because it included comment on the ongoing inquest into the Hillsborough disaster and the deaths of 96 people.
In the piece, published in his new column in the Sun, MacKenzie dedicated several hundred words to the testimony of former chief superintendent David Duckenfield.
A spokesperson for Jeremy Wright said: “I can confirm this office has been asked to consider a number of articles, including the one written by Kelvin MacKenzie, regarding the evidence heard in the Hillsborough inquest and last week we issued a media advisory that urged restraint when publishing, including by way of social media.
“The office is monitoring coverage, and whilst the law officers do not think the coverage they have seen requires action for contempt of court, we do urge everyone to read and adhere to the media advisory.”
The media advisory was issued on 16 March, five days before MacKenzie’s piece was published in the Sun. It is understood that none of the articles so far referred are going to result in any legal action.
Last year the previous attorney general, Dominic Grieve, warned the public to take care when commenting ahead of the inquest.
He also warned editors and publishers “that the inquest proceedings are currently active for the purpose of the Contempt of Court Act 1981”.
Contempt of court bars comment on ongoing trials and inquests to avoid the risk of influencing the jury in one direction.
The MacKenzie article was brought to the attorney general’s attention by a supporter of the Hillsborough families campaign for justice.
The attorney general’s office told him in an email: “We will consider it and take action as appropriate.”
MacKenzie was the editor of the Sun the night of the Hillsborough disaster and his paper’s coverage led to the title being boycotted in Liverpool.
Separately, the Guardian has issued clarification about a column penned by MacKenzie in the paper on Tuesday about his change of heart over immigration.
A Guardian News & Media spokesperson said: “Kelvin MacKenzie has not been hired as a columnist by the Guardian. Rather, he was commissioned to write a single article explaining his change of heart on immigration: he used to oppose it, now he supports it. Every day we publish a range of voices on our opinion pages, voices from all over the world and across the entire political and ideological spectrum. Naturally not all of these opinion articles, or their authors, always reflect the Guardian’s own editorial position.”
