The editor of the
News of the World, Colin Myler, has reacted to the High Court's decision to award
FIA president Max Mosley £60,000 in damages for an invasion of privacy by stating he fears for the freedom of the British press.
Mosley was victorious in his case against the 'paper for it's reporting of his involvement in an orgy with five prostitutes which the
News of the World claimed had Nazi connotations.
Although he accepted that the incident had occurred, Mosley denied that Nazi claims from the outset, with Judge Mr Justice Eady ruling that there was no Nazi role-play involved and that the newspaper had invaded Mosley's privacy in running its exposé.
Speaking outside the High Court following the ruling, Myler – who was previously forced to resign from a similar role with the
Sunday Mirror after it ran article that led to the collapse of a trial against Leeds United footballers Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate – defended the decision to run the article which it believed to be both legitimate and lawful.
"For the past two weeks, the
News of the World has been on trial in Court 13 of the High Court," Myler told the waiting press. "We have been accused of gross intrusion into the private life of
Max Mosley, the president of the FIA and the leader of
Formula One motorsport.
"The newspaper was in the dock for publishing details of his five-hour S&M orgy with five prostitutes in a Chelsea flat. In court, Mr Mosley admitted to enjoying these activities for 45 years, a fact of which his wife and children were unaware. The judge has ruled that Mr Mosley's activities did not involve Nazi roleplay as we had reported but has acknowledged that
The News of the World had an honest belief that a Nazi theme was involved during the orgy.
