The video of what the
News of the World claims is
Max Mosley's ‘sick Nazi orgy with 5 hookers' was described as ‘demeaning and humiliating' by his lawyer and said to consist ‘mainly of people spanking each others' bottoms', according to the judge presiding over the
FIA President's legal challenge.
The High Court today threw out Mosley's bid to prevent the Sunday tabloid from re-instating the 90-second video clip on its website [see separate story –
click here], after Mr Justice Eady ruled it would make ‘little practical difference' to grant an injunction against the newspaper given that the video had since been viewed around the world. He reasoned that Mosley no longer had a reasonable expectation of privacy because the content of the video was now ‘widely familiar'.
“[The footage is] very brief, containing shots of Mr Mosley taking part in sexual activities with five prostitutes,” the
BBC quotes the judge as having said, “and it also covers the tea break.
“The very brief extracts which I was shown seemed to consist mainly of people spanking each others' bottoms.
“I have, with some reluctance, come to the conclusion that although this material is intrusive and demeaning, and despite the fact that there is no legitimate public interest in its further publication, the granting of an order against this respondent at the present juncture would merely be a futile gesture.”
According to the
News of the World's legal manager Tom Crone, between 30 March – when the video was first published on the paper's website – and 31 March, when it was removed again, it was viewed a staggering 1,424,959 times.
