Grand Prix Teams Tell Mosley He is a Disgrace and Put Pressure on Him to Quit After Sex Video

Pressure was mounting on Max Mosley to quit as president of world motor racing's governing body last night after four of the biggest car manufacturers criticized him following a newspaper exposé in which he was filmed in a sex session with five prostitutes.

Last night, an emergency meeting of the federation of world motoring organizations (FIA) was called in a bid to achieve "complete clarity" after Toyota, Honda, BMW and Mercedes-Benz issued statements calling Mosley's position into question, using words such as "disgraceful" and "disappointed".

Mosley is one of the most powerful men in a multi-billion pound sport which has a huge global following, and senior figures within racing have already said they think he should step aside.

The furore erupted last Sunday when the News of the World claimed that Mosley took part in a Nazi-themed "punishment" scenario with two women dressed as prisoners and others as guards.

In a secretly filmed video, Mosley can be heard barking words out in German as, accompanied by a woman wearing a military-style jacket, he spanks two women in black-and-white striped costumes. The video has now been removed from the paper's website.

Mosley admitted taking part in the sex but denied there was any Nazi or concentration camp themes. He said he spoke in German because that was the language of two of the women who were involved in the scenario.

Yesterday the former barrister responded to the manufacturers' intervention by alluding to the role of German car makers in their support of Hitler's regime. In a statement, he said: "Given the history of BMW and Mercedes-Benz, particularly before and during the second world war, I fully understand why they would wish to strongly distance themselves from what they rightly describe as the disgraceful content of these publications. Unfortunately, they did not contact me before putting out their statement to ask whether the content was in fact true. No doubt the FIA will respond to them in due course as I am about to respond to the newspaper in question."

Former F1 champions Jackie Stewart and Jody Scheckter have already called on 67-year-old Mosley to step down before his mandate ends in October 2009.

Last night McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton said he agreed with the sentiment of the manufacturers' statements. "As young people we are always looking up to others to show us the way and set a good example, which is key," he said.

Mosley says he will no longer attend this weekend's grand prix in Bahrain because he is consulting his lawyers.

However, it emerged yesterday that his invitation had been withdrawn by Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Bahrain's crown prince. "With great regret I feel that under the current circumstances, it would be inappropriate for you to be in Bahrain at this time," the crown prince wrote.

Mosley had been due at the racetrack in Sakhir, just outside Bahrain City, today, and was due to have dinner with the crown prince this evening.

A joint statement issued by BMW and Mercedes said: "The content of the publications is disgraceful. We strongly distance ourselves from it... We await a response from the relevant FIA bodies."

Toyota said it disapproved "of any behavior which could be seen to damage formula one's image, in particular any behavior which could be understood to be racist or antisemitic."

The Honda team added: "[We are] extremely disappointed by recent events surrounding Mr Mosley and we are concerned that the reputation of formula one and all its participants is being damaged."

Mosley has claimed in a letter to members of the FIA that an "impeccable high-level source close to the UK police and security services" told him there was evidence that he had been framed by a "covert" operation.

He said: "Regrettably you are now familiar with the results of this covert investigation and I am very sorry if this has embarrassed you or the club. Not content with publicizing highly personal and private activities, which are, to say the least, embarrassing, a British tabloid newspaper published the story with the claim that there was some sort of Nazi connotation to the matter. This is entirely false."

Backstory

Max Mosley is the son of Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists, and his second wife, Diana Mitford. The couple married at the family home of the Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels in Berlin in 1936, with Diana's friend Adolf Hitler as guest. That same year, Mosley and his black shirts attempted to march through a largely Jewish section of London's East End but were met with resistance in what became known as the Battle of Cable Street. Because of their sympathies both parents were interned in Brixton and Holloway prisons in 1940 while Max was still being breastfed. After their release, Oswald Mosley reorganized the BUF as the Union Movement and ran for parliament opposing non-white immigration in 1959. Their son was involved in politics from an early age, eventually standing as a parliamentary candidate for the UM. He was arrested aged 22 for threatening behavior during a demonstration in London's then mostly Jewish Ridley Road market in Dalston, but was eventually acquitted. Max Mosley turned his back on politics and focused on motor racing, saying: "If I had a completely open choice in my life, I would have chosen party politics but, because of my name, that's impossible."