Ed Gorman's Formula One blog

Max Mosley intends to stick it out as head of the governing body of world motor racing despite his exposure in a Sunday redtop newspaper for having enjoyed an apparent Nazi orgy with five prostitutes, sources close to him said today.

The News of the World reported yesterday that Mr Mosley, President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), had re-enacted scenes from a concentration camp during sado-masochistic sexual roleplay in a "torture chamber" in Chelsea.

The newspaper posted video snippets only from what it said had been a five-hour orgy which ended with the prostitutes drinking wine while Mr Mosley, 67, recovered his composure with a cup of tea.

The revelations are particularly damaging because Mr Mosley's father, Oswald, was the pre-war leader of Britain's fascist "blackshirts" who invited Adolf Hitler to his wedding.

Mr Mosley was said to have spoken in German and brandished a leather whip as he beat the women after allowing himself to be subjected to a humiliating inspection for lice. The News of the World said that Mr Mosley paid £2,500 cash for the prostitutes' services.

The revelations angered Jewish groups, who called for his resignation from one of the most powerful positions in world sport.

Motor racing insiders also questioned whether his position was tenable. The FIA does not simply administer Formula One but all other motor racing championships and even holds sway over road safety organisations such as the AA and RAC.

The only person to have stood up for him so far was his close ally Bernie Ecclestone, the Jewish businessman who controls the commercial side of Formula One.

Mr Ecclestone said that he was shocked by the allegations but did not expect Mr Mosley’s position at the FIA to be affected.

“I’ve known him an awful long time. If somebody had told me this without the evidence I would have found it difficult to believe,” he said.

“Assuming it’s all true, what people do privately is up to them. I don’t honestly believe [it] affects the sport in any way. Knowing Max it might be all a bit of a joke. You know, it’s one of those things where he’s sort of taking the p***, rather than anything against Jewish people.”

Sources close to Mr Mosley told The Times that he had no intention of resigning over the incident. His lawyers were said to be taking legal action against the News of the World for breach of privacy.

Possibly as a result of the interest whipped up by the story, Mr Mosley appears set, however, to cancel a trip to this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. It would have been his first appearance in the Formula One paddock so far this season.

Mr Mosley, who once harboured ambitions to be a parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party, is known for being eccentric and outspoken. Nicknamed “Mad Max” by some in motorsport, he once said he didn’t mind flak because he came from a family used to getting it all the time.

Hitler was present at the wedding of his father and mother, the socialite Diana Mitford which took place in Joseph Goebbels’s drawing room. They were interned in Holloway and Brixton prisons for their Fascist connections.

Most recently, Mr Mosley stood up against racism in Formula One by giving warning of immediate sanctions if there was a repeat of the abuse against Lewis Hamilton, the only black driver on the circuit, in Barcelona during testing this season.

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