Leveson to hear from Sun editors

8 January 2012 Last updated at 23:56 ET

Kelvin Mackenzie was editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994

The current and former editors of the Sun newspaper will be giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry into press standards later.

Dominic Mohan and Kelvin Mackenzie are among the journalists set to appear at the Royal Courts of Justice this week.

The hearing, set up after News of the World phone-hacking scandal, resumes for the first time since Christmas.

On Thursday, it will hear from the owner of the Daily Express and Daily Star, Richard Desmond.

Daily Telegraph editor Tony Gallagher, Independent editor Chris Blackhurst and Financial Times editor Lionel Barber will all give evidence on Tuesday.

Inquiry 'ludicrous'

Prime Minister David Cameron set up the inquiry after the News of the World admitted intercepting voicemail messages of prominent people to find stories. The paper was shut down by its owner News International in the wake of the scandal.

The first part of the Leveson Inquiry is examining the culture, practices and ethics of the press and is due to produce a report by next September.

The second part, looking at the unlawful activities by journalists, will not start until the police investigation into alleged phone hacking and corrupt payments have been concluded.

Mr Mackenzie edited The Sun - part of the same newspaper group as the NoW - between 1981 and 1994.

He recently summed up his policy on checking out the truth of a story as "if it sounded right, it was probably right and therefore we should lob it in".

Mr Mackenzie has already described the Leveson Inquiry as "ludicrous" and BBC correspondent Peter Hunt says he may provide one of its more striking testimonies.

Mr Desmond's newspaper group had to pay £550,000 in libel damages in 2008 after publishing false stories published about the parents of the missing child Madeleine McCann.

Gerry and Kate McCann won the libel settlement and apology from Express Newspapers for suggesting they had been responsible.

And seven friends who were dining with the McCanns when their daughter disappeared received a £375,000 libel payout from Express Newspapers that same year, after untrue allegations about them appeared in the Daily Express, the Sunday Express and the Daily Star.