Max Mosley: The man who faced News Of The World and won | Ents & Arts News

“Enemy of the free press,” was the caustic description of former Formula One boss Max Mosley in The Sun newspaper obituary after his death from cancer.

Other British tabloids also did not fire any punches. “Son of Hitler sympathizer who fought the press for exposing sadistic orgy with prostitutes,” the Mirror said, while the Daily Mail also referred to the “masochistic” sex session in its headline.

It’s a testament to the 81-year-old’s impact on red tops and his legacy outside of motorsport; for many, he will be remembered after his death as the man who took over from News Of The World and won, in a landmark privacy case, just years before the phone hacking scandal brought down the Sunday newspaper.

While many greet Mr. Mosley for his privacy campaign – he testified alongside stars such as Steve Coogan and Hugh Grant to MPs and the Leveson Inquiry – to the tabloid press, he was certainly an enemy.

It all started in 2008, when News Of The World published a front page article, accompanied by a secretly filmed video, with the headline “F1 Boss has Sick Nazi Orgy with Five Hookers”, followed by a caption making reference to his father, the British fascist leader of the 1930s, Sir Oswald Mosley: “Son of a Hitler-loving fascist in sexual shame”.

The information about an extramarital sex party was true. However, the claim that there was a Nazi theme took him too far, with the incorrect claim coming in the context of a parental legacy which Mr Mosley said had pursued him all his life.

After taking the case to the High Court, Mr Mosley was awarded £ 60,000 in damages following a ruling that there was no justification for a front page article and photos on his meeting with five prostitutes in a London apartment. The judge said he found no evidence of Nazi themes in the orgy and said Mr. …