Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson has said the idea of Kelvin Mackenzie becoming the new chairman of the BBC 'turns his stomach'.
The former S*n editor is reviled on Merseyside for his key role in the newspaper's disgraceful coverage of the Hillsborough disaster - as well as other comments about the people of this region.
He then lost his column with the newspaper after he compared former Everton footballer Ross Barkley, who is mixed-race, to a gorilla.
The former editor has now announced he will be putting himself forward to become the new chairman of the BBC.
His plans for the role involve selling Radio 1 and Radio 2 and other channels.
Reacting to the news, Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson, who reported Mr Mackenzie to the police after his comments about Ross Barkley, said the idea of him leading the BBC 'turns his stomach.'
He said: "If that happened, I think there would be a lot of people choosing not to renew their licence fee.
"This important position is one that requires understanding, empathy and a passion to end injustice and raise key issues facing society.
"From what we have seen of him, he meets none of these requirements.
"The very idea of this turns my stomach and if it appears likely to happen I will be writing to the BBC and its Trustees to urge them to resist it."
In his comment piece about Ross Barkley in 2017, Mr Mackenzie also suggested the highest paid people in the city of Liverpool were footballers and drug dealers and described the Everton star as “thick” and rich - and therefore an “attractive catch” for women in the city.
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Mayor Anderson added: "In this city we know what he's done, we know what he is about and I think there would be a lot of people here and elsewhere that just wouldn't accept this.
"The BBC is incredibly important institution and this would hugely diminish it."
A formal advert for the Chairman’s job, which currently carries a £100,000 salary for a three day-a-week role, will be published this week.
