FIA president Max Mosley has lost his court battle to prevent the News of the World showing a video of him with five prostitutes. The paper published details of the encounter last month and posted a 90-second extract of the video on its website, www.notw.co.uk, but removed it on 31 March pending the results of today’s hearing.
High court judge Mr Justice Eady admitted that the video was “intrusive and demeaning” and further publication was not in the public interest, but said that granting the injunction would be “a futile gesture”. The footage is thought to have been viewed almost 1.5 million times in the two days it was originally online.
Mosley, son of the wartime British Fascist leader, Oswald Mosley, does not dispute his involvement in the events portrayed in the video, but alleges a breach of privacy and denies that there were any Nazi connotations in his behaviour.
Mosley has resisted pressure to resign in the wake of the allegations, despite losing the support of several key regional authorities, including the AAA in the United States and ADAC in Germany. Members of the FIA Senate are scheduled to meet on 3 June to vote on his future as the organisation’s president.
