Mr MacKenzie, who was suspended by The Sun over his remarks, said he had expected the one-time chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to claim he was racist.

Mr Phillips’s support was mirrored by MPs, including one Conservative who sent a text saying: “On behalf of all gorillas, I’d like to make a complaint.”

Writing in the Spectator magazine, Mr MacKenzie defended his Sun column, claiming he was not aware that Mr Barkley’s grandfather was half-Nigerian.

He said: “I and every football fan I had ever met believed Barkley to be white. Unluckily for me, but luckily for my enemies in the North West, that was not entirely true.”

Mr Phillips declined to comment.

News UK announced Mr MacKenzie had been suspended from the Sun following the controversy over the article, saying he expressed "wrong" and "unfunny" views about the people of Liverpool.

The Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, had reported the columnist to police over an article he claimed contained "a racial slur".