FIA boss caught up in sick Nazi romp saga

LONDON - Motorsport boss Max Mosley has denied a sado-masochism party he attended had a Nazi theme.

Mr Mosley, the 68-year-old son of the 1930s Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, launched a breach of privacy action against the News of the World after the newspaper claimed he took part in a "sick Nazi orgy with five hookers". The article alleged Mr Mosley, the president of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, played the role of a concentration camp commandant and a cowering death camp inmate for sexual gratification.

Mr Mosley told the High Court he attended a "party" with five women in a Chelsea basement flat on March 28 but denied the women were prostitutes. He said he spoke German during a sado-masochistic session with the women because the "harsh-sounding" language suited his dominant role.

He told the court: "German also somehow sounds appropriate for a bossy dominant character. It is a harsh-sounding - rather than a romantic - language." He said that at no time did he or woman A, who arranged the "parties", ever use the word "Nazi" in their discussions, saying: "A Nazi theme would be abhorrent to me - and I suspect that none of the women would wish to take part should anyone suggest such a theme."

Mr Mosley agreed that the March 28 session involved women wearing black jackets, black boots and a black cap, but said: "Had I wanted a Nazi scene, I would have said I wanted one and A would have got some of the inexpensive Nazi stuff from the joke shop that provides uniforms and would not have gone to Marks and Spencer and got quite expensive jackets."

One of the women involved later gave evidence as a witness for Mr Mosley, saying: "I did not see anything Nazi." Mr Mosley said the women led "perfectly normal and respectable lives" and seemed entirely trustworthy. He has told Mr Justice Eady that Jean, his wife of 48 years, had not known of this aspect of his life.

Mr Mosley is seeking exemplary damages against the News of the World, saying: "In one weekend they have destroyed everything. It is difficult to describe how public this humiliation has been."