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Mosley denies 'Nazi-themed orgy' | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Motor-sport boss Max Mosley has said there "was not even a hint" of Nazi-inspired behaviour in a sexual encounter he had with five prostitutes. | |
He is suing the News of the World for defamation and invasion of privacy after it used photos it said showed him in a "Nazi-themed orgy". | |
But Mr Mosley, 68, told the High Court: "I can think of few things more unerotic than Nazi role-play." | |
Earlier, his barrister said the paper had acted like a "Peeping Tom". | |
James Price QC said his client admitted using prostitutes, but denied any Nazi overtones. He said the paper had committed a "gross and indefensible intrusion" into his private life. | |
Mr Mosley alleges defamation and invasion of privacy by the News of the World, its editor-in-chief and other staff, and is also suing News Group Newspapers, which owns the paper, for breach of privacy. | |
The landmark case sees him make an unprecedented claim for punitive, as well as compensatory, damages. | |
Mr Price said his client's life had been "devastated", adding: "This should not happen again and newspapers need to be taught that disregard of the rights of others does not pay." | |
The News of the World, which also posted video of the encounter on its website, argues publication was justified in the public interest. | The News of the World, which also posted video of the encounter on its website, argues publication was justified in the public interest. |
'Basic human taboo' | |
Mr Mosley is president of the FIA, the governing body for Formula 1 racing, and the son of the 1930s Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. | Mr Mosley is president of the FIA, the governing body for Formula 1 racing, and the son of the 1930s Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. |
He was alleged by the newspaper to have played the roles of a concentration camp guard and an inmate during the sexual encounter at a flat he rented in Chelsea, west London. | He was alleged by the newspaper to have played the roles of a concentration camp guard and an inmate during the sexual encounter at a flat he rented in Chelsea, west London. |
But Mr Mosley said: "All my life, I have had hanging over me my antecedents, my parents, and the last thing I want to do in some sexual context is be reminded of it." If if it had been about Bernie Ecclestone, it would not have been a 'sick Nazi orgy' James Price QC | |
When asked if there was a Nazi aspect to his behaviour, he said: "Absolutely not. | |
"There was not even a hint of that - certainly not in my mind and, I'm convinced, not in the minds of any of the other participants." | |
Mr Price said that to spy on a person's sex life was "disgusting" and "violates a basic human taboo". | |
"The role of the News of the World as Peeping Tom publishing for the amusement of the millions sits uncomfortably with its self-appointed role as arbitrator of the nation's morals," he said. | |
"It would be funny if it were not so terribly harmful to the News of the World's victims." | |
'Sins of the father' | 'Sins of the father' |
Mr Price said the trial was "not a forum to debate the evils or otherwise of Sir Oswald Mosley" - the founder of the British Union of Fascists. | |
"The only point is that the sins of the father cannot justly be visited on Mr Mosley, who was born at a time when the British Union of Fascists was simply a memory and when Britain was already at war with Nazi Germany," he said. Most people probably think S and M behaviour is harmless and private and even funny Mr Price | |
It is Mr Mosley's case that before the story was published, he was not well known to the public and had not courted publicity for himself or his private life. | It is Mr Mosley's case that before the story was published, he was not well known to the public and had not courted publicity for himself or his private life. |
Mr Price said it was, therefore, the Mosley name alone that had prompted the article. | Mr Price said it was, therefore, the Mosley name alone that had prompted the article. |
"If if it had been about Bernie Ecclestone, it would not have been a 'sick Nazi orgy'," he said. | "If if it had been about Bernie Ecclestone, it would not have been a 'sick Nazi orgy'," he said. |
Mr Price said Mr Mosley accepted he had been interested in sadomasochistic sex - or "S and M" - since "quite a young age". | |
He said that most people did not want to know about someone else's sex life "not because it is wrong or immoral, still less because it is disgusting", but simply because it was none of their business. | |
"Most people probably think S and M behaviour - spanking, bondage, whipping, role-play like doctors and nurses, sheikhs and harems, guards and prisoners - is harmless and private and even funny," he added. | |
Mr Mosley has been FIA president since 1993 and his latest four-year term does not expire until October 2009. | |
The case continues. | The case continues. |