Max Mosley has defended the tabloid allegations about his private life as being ‘harmless and completely legal', and insisted the ‘Nazi connotations' to which the
News of the World referred in its front page exposé last weekend were ‘pure fabrication'.
The FIA President has confirmed he is opening legal proceedings for ‘unlimited damages' against the
News of the World on the grounds of breach of privacy [see separate story –
click here]. The paper alleged he had been involved in a sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes near to his London home, and though Mosley does not deny the claims, he has vigorously rejected any suggestions of Nazi overtones to the five-hour, £2,500 experience.
“Had I been caught driving excessively fast on a public road or over the alcohol limit (even in, say, Sweden where it is very low) I should have resigned the same day,” international news agency
Reuters quotes the 67-year-old as having written in a letter addressed to Peter Meyer, head of Germany's ADAC Automobile Club and sent to all members of
Formula 1's governing body as well as the
FIA's World Motor Sport Council and Senate.
“As it is, a scandal paper obtained by illegal means pictures of something I did in private which, although unacceptable to some people, was harmless and completely legal.
“Many people do things in their bedrooms or have personal habits which others find repugnant, but as long as they keep them private, nobody objects.”
Mosley is standing firm in the face of demands from some of the sport's leading and most influential car manufacturers –
BMW, Mercedes-Benz,
Toyota and
Honda – to re-consider his position. He has come in for a barrage of criticism since the revelations were made public six days ago, but maintains he has received support from 20 FIA clubs and representatives of 50 others. He has since called for an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Senate, which will be held in the FIA's home of Paris at the earliest available date.
