Max heads to court

The Max Mosley sex scandal will take on a new dimension when legal proceedings kick off in London on July 7.

Mosley is suing News Group Newspapers, owners of the News of the World, for breach of privacy. In a parallel case in France he is suing the same company for defamation and invasion of privacy.

The UK case will give Mosley the chance to present his side of the story. With the help of the Quest investigative concern – owned by Lord Stevens – Mosley’s camp has been looking into how the newspaper’s ‘sting’ was organised, and who might have been involved in setting it up. It is expected that parts of the trial will be held in private.

It has also been revealed how Quest discovered that the husband of the prostitute behind the newspaper story was an MI5 operative. The man concerned noticed that he was being followed by a car and, suspecting a terrorist involvement, called in full support from his organisation as he drove to its London base.

Mosley’s position within the sport was strengthened on June 3 when he won a vote of confidence at an Extraordinary General Assembly of the FIA. In a secret ballot he received 103 votes of support, with 55 against, seven abstentions and four invalid ballots.