An attempt by Max Mosley, the head of motorsport’s ruling body, to rehabilitate himself after lurid revelations about his appetite for sadomasochistic orgies with prostitutes suffered a setback yesterday when the Israeli Government withdrew his invitation to an event in Tel Aviv.

Mr Mosley, the son of Sir Oswald Mosley, the wartime Fascist leader, let it be widely known that he was to meet Galeb Majadle, the country’s Minister for Science, Culture and Sport, for talks on developing the sport in the region.

It emerged yesterday that embarrassed Israeli officials were unaware that Mr Mosley, who is facing calls to resign as president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), was at the centre of a sex scandal that has shocked car manufacturers, Formula One and his family.

It appears that during a dinner hosted by Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan in Amman on Thursday night, at which Mr Mosley and Mr Majadle were present, no mention was made of revelations in the News of the World that Mr Mosley took part in a sadomasochistic bondage session which the paper said had Nazi overtones. Mr Mosley denies that there were any Nazi connotations and is taking legal action against the paper.

Once the Israelis realised their mistake they were quick to issue a statement underlining that Mr Mosley was not welcome in Israel. The statement noted that Mr Mosley and Mr Majadle had met and held detailed discussions but added: “The Minister, who was not at all aware of the scandal currently surrounding Mosley’s name, would now like to make it clear that his invitation was not intended to be personal to Mosley himself but rather to the representative of the FIA as a global organisation. In any event, once the scandal was brought to the Minister’s attention, he has requested to withdraw immediately any official invitation to Mosley until the matter is reviewed more thoroughly once back in Israel.”

The reaction of the Israeli Government will underline the widespread view within motorsport and the car industry that Mr Mosley has become a liability to the FIA and can no longer function in a role that involves representing the interests of more than 100 million motorists.

The volte-face in Jerusalem follows a similar reaction by the Crown Prince of Bahrain, who wrote to Mr Mosley informing him that he would not be welcome for that country’s Formula One Grand Prix three weeks ago.

The change of heart by Mr Majadle is a serious blow to Mr Mosley’s carefully planned attempt to re-establish himself, which is being co-ordinated by the FIA’s spokesman and Mr Mosley’s personal “spin-doctor”, Richard Woods. Yesterday Mr Woods said: “The FIA cannot make a comment on this matter until we receive official confirmation of the statement from the Israeli Government.”

In the Formula One paddock, Mr Mosley’s refusal to step down — instead he has gambled his future on a confidence vote of FIA members in a secret ballot on June 3 — has angered team principals who believe he is causing immense damage to the sport and putting his appetite for public attention before his duty to the sport he claims to love.

Before the publication of the Israeli statement Mr Mosley told reporters in Jordan that he was planning to attend next month’s Monaco Grand Prix which will be his first appearance on the Formula One circuit since the scandal erupted. “I only went to one complete Formula One race last year. That was Monaco, and I was at the complete event because I live there,” he said.

Mr Woods has said that Mr Mosley has had more than seven letters of support for every one asking him to resign. But at least 22 leading individuals and organisations in motorsport have expressed concern about his position, with only three individuals or organisations in favour.