Ed Gorman | April 03, 2008
MAX MOSLEY, the president of the FIA, has said he spoke in German during a sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes not because he was fantasising about being a Nazi but merely because several of the prostitutes involved were German speakers.
The News of the World alleged that Mosley, who is facing calls to resign from one of the most powerful jobs in motorsport, spanked at least one prostitute with a leather strap and counted out the strokes in German as he did so. The paper claimed that this was evidence of a Nazi-style fantasy on the part of Mosley and it also alleged that the FIA president engaged in role-play as a concentration camp inmate during the five-hour orgy in a West London flat last Friday.
However, The Times reported that, as part of his legal action against the News of the World, Mosley will argue that he spoke in German only because at least two of the five prostitutes were German and that there was no intention on his part to engage in activity that could be said to have Nazi overtones.
After several days of lurid headlines and calls for him to resign, Mosley is going on the offensive over a scandal that has shocked Formula One and the boardrooms of the car manufacturers who compete in the sport.
Since the story broke last Sunday, he has spent many hours speaking to lawyers, assembling a case against the paper that will centre on invasion of privacy and his belief that he was the victim of a set-up. It appears that Mosley will not deny that he took part in the orgy but will dispute the context in which it occurred.
In a letter to all the members of the FIA, Mosley claims that he has been the victim of a "deliberate and calculated personal attack" after what he said was a "covert investigation" of his private life and background.
"Regrettably, you are now familiar with the results of this covert investigation and I am very sorry if this has embarrassed you or the club," Mosley said, before adding that he had received a "very large number" of messages of support from people within the FIA and motorsport.
While Mosley may have his supporters, inquiries by The Times suggest that there is also widespread revulsion at his behaviour, whether there was a Nazi connotation to it or not.
The scandal has been discussed at boardroom level in most of the big car manufacturers and there have been rumours that a statement from them calling for Mosley's resignation has been considered.
In the immediate future, Mosley has perhaps wisely chosen to stay away from this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, claiming that he is too busy with lawyers to make the trip. There is little doubt, however, that his presence would distract attention from the race and embarrass the Bahraini royal family.
The Times