Sun ousts Murdoch protege who likened football star to gorilla - FT

Former Sun newspaper editor Kelvin MacKenzie gestures as he leaves the Leveson Inquiry at the High Court in central London, January 9, 2012. REUTERS/Paul Hackett (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS MEDIA) - RTR2W1YE

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top-selling newspaper The Sun is to oust Kelvin MacKenzie, a provocative columnist and long-time favourite of owner Rupert Murdoch, over an article widely criticised as racist, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The ouster of MacKenzie, who as editor of The Sun from 1981 to 1994 ran some of its most memorable front pages, comes at a time when Murdoch's U.S. TV business is struggling to contain a sexual harassment scandal at Fox News.