Max Mosley Wins £60,000 in News of the World Privacy Case

Formula one boss Max Mosley today won £60,000 in his privacy action against the News of the World after the Sunday tabloid had falsely accused him of taking part in a "sick Nazi orgy".

Mosley, 68, the son of the 1930s British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, sued the Sunday tabloid paper for grossly invading his privacy after it printed pictures and published video of him indulging in a five-hour sadomasochistic sex session with prostitutes in a Chelsea apartment.

He failed in his bid to seek an unprecedented award of punitive exemplary damages.

The paper alleged the session had "Nazi overtones", but Mosley - the president of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) - strenuously denied this in court.

The News of the World's informant, known as Woman E, was not called as a witness for the paper because of what the paper's QC, Mark Warby, said was her "emotional and mental state".

News of the World had argued that there was no basis for punitive damages, because the newspaper believed what was written and that it was legitimate to publish.

Mosley's counsel, James Price QC, argued that compensation for intrusion of privacy should be greater than those for defamation "because invasion of privacy can never be repaired and the claimant has to live with it for the rest of his life".

The case, which has made headlines around the world, saw Mosley give evidence about how the allegations had caused his wife and family great distress, while the News of the World editor, Colin Myler, defended the paper.

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