LONDON (AFP) — World motorsport chief Max Mosley won his privacy case at London's High Court Thursday against a British newspaper which alleged he took part in a Nazi-themed sadomasochistic orgy with prostitutes.
Mosley, president of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) and son of 1930s British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, was awarded 60,000 pounds (120,000 dollars, 76,000 euros) in damages against News Group Newspapers, owners of the News of the World tabloid which ran the story.
He had admitted paying five women for sex in March but denied there was a Nazi theme, saying the session in March centred on a prison fantasy and accusing the top-selling Sunday tabloid of a gross invasion of privacy.
And judge David Eady agreed that there had been "no evidence" of Nazi-style behaviour, adding that Mosley's involvement in the session did not justify such an intrusion on Mosley's privacy.
"There was bondage, beating and domination which seem to be typical of S and M behaviour," the judge said in his ruling.
"But there was no public interest or other justification for the clandestine recording, for the publication of the resulting information... all of this on a massive scale."
The judge added that Mosley was "hardly exaggerating when he says that his life was ruined" by the story.
Mosley, who has fought off attempts to have him removed as FIA head in the wake of the revelations, showed no emotion as the verdict was handed down.
During the trial he had told the court he could think of "few things more unerotic than Nazi role-play" because of his family background.
His lawyer James Price told the court that the News of the World's "gross and indefensible intrusion" was made worse by the false suggestion that Mosley played a concentration camp commandant and death camp inmate in the session.
Colin Myler, the paper's editor, said the session, which it filmed and put on the Internet, had a legitimate public interest angle, adding it was "absolutely not true" that the Nazi aspect was false.
During the five-hour S and M session, Mosley, 68, was chained up and subjected to a medical examination, including a check for lice.
One of the women caned Mosley 21 times, drawing blood and necessitating a plaster on his bottom.
Later, Mosley punished three of the women -- all of whom were dressed in stripy uniforms -- with a strap while speaking German to another woman who was playing the role of prison guard.
Afterwards, the women and Mosley relaxed with a drink in the flat in plush Chelsea, southwest London, where the session took place before going their separate ways.
Mosley has admitted paying the women 500 pounds (985 dollars or 630 euros) each for the session and renting the basement flat where it took place.
He told the court he spoke in German because the language sounded harsh and suited the role he was playing.
Myler accepted that the newspaper -- part of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's global business empire -- had not sought a transcript of the German conversations before publishing the story.
The newspaper also faced a setback during the case when a star witness -- a woman who secretly filmed the session -- could not give evidence in court due to what its lawyer Mark Warby said was "her emotional and mental state".
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