Max Mosley and the English Right to Privacy

Washington University Global Studies Law Review Volume 10 | Issue 3 2011 Max Mosley and the English Right to Privacy James E. Stanley Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, and the Human Rights Law Commons Recommended Citation James E. Stanley, Max Mosley and the English Right to Privacy, 10 Wash. U. Global Stud. L. Rev. 641 (2011), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol10/iss3/7 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Global Studies Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact . MAX MOSLEY AND THE ENGLISH RIGHT TO PRIVACY INTRODUCTION On March 30, 2008, the British weekly tabloid News of the World published a characteristically scandalous and salacious piece of journalism.1 Entitled ―F1 Boss Has Sick Nazi Orgy with Hookers,‖2 the article described the participation of Max Mosley,3 then-President of the Fédération Internationale de l‘Automobile (―FIA‖)4 in a sado-masochistic orgy with multiple prostitutes.5 The article was accompanied by images of the alleged orgy, and News of the World‘s website simultaneously published the print edition‘s content along with edited video footage of the sex acts.6 A follow-up story ran on April 6, 2008, in which one of the women involved in the sex acts was interviewed by the newspaper. 1. The News of the World was notorious for its invasive investigative reports, especially those focused on celebrities. As one of Britain‘s ―Red Top‖ tabloid newspapers (so-called for their flashy red mastheads), it focused primarily on entertainment news. And with a circulation around three million people, it was one of the most widely read English newspapers. Mark Sweney, News of the World Bucks Sunday Red-Top Trend with Slight Rise, GUARDIAN (UK), Oct. 16, 2009, http://www. guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/16/abcs-sunday-mid-market-newspapers. 2. Mosley v. News Group Newspapers Ltd., [2008] EWHC (QB) 1777, [2] (Eng.). 3. Max Mosley is prominent in his own right as a world sports figurehead. However, his celebrity is magnified by his identity as the scion of one of Great Britain‘s most notorious political families. His father, Sir Oswald Mosley, served as the leader of the British Union of Fascists and his mother, Diana Mitford, was one of the infamous Mitford sisters, well-known for their involvement with the luminaries and villains of twentieth century Europe. Mitford was a proud intimate of notable fascist leaders such as Adolf Hitler and General Francisco Franco; indeed, the only guests at her wedding ceremony to Sir Oswald aside from the witnesses were Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and Hitler himself. PHILLIP REES, BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF THE EXTREME RIGHT SINCE 1890, 269–70 (1990). See also Ashling O‘Connor & Ed Gorman, Mosley‟s Son Faces Calls to Quit As Formula One Chief After „Nazi‟ Orgy, TIMES (LONDON), Mar. 31, 2008, at 5. Mosley has largely avoided politics because of his name, but this family history and a past unwillingness to truly distance himself from the views of his parents certainly made the allegations of a ―Nazi-theme‖ orgy all the more damaging to his public reputation. Geoffrey Levy, Shadow of the Father, DAILY MAIL (UK), Apr. 2, 2008, at 22. See also Caroline Gammell, Profile Max Mosley, DAILY TELEGRAPH (UK), July 25, 2008, at 4 (reporting Mosley‘s court testimony that ―[a]ll my life I have had hanging over me my antecedents, my parents.‖). The News of the World sought to make the most of Mosley‘s family history, boasting that the story contained ―all that‘s decent to print on the episode that disgraced even HIS family‘s shame-drenched name.‖ Mosley, [2008] EWHC (QB) 1777, [40]. 4. The FIA is the nonprofit organization that operates as the governing body for world motor sport, administering the rules and regulations for Formula One racing. Mosley served as president of the organization from 1993 until October 23, 2009, when Jean Todt won the FIA presidency in a lopsided victory after being backed by the retiring Mosley. Ian Parkes, Join Me: New FIA Chief Todt Wins Landslide, DAILY POST (LIVERPOOL), Oct. 24, 2009, at 29. 5. Mosley, [2008] EWHC (QB) 1777, [4]. 6. Id. at [2]. 641 Washington University Open Scholarship 642 WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY GLOBAL STUDIES LAW REVIEW [VOL. 10:641 After a failed attempt at an injunction,7 Mosley predictably filed suit for damages against News Group Newspapers Ltd., the publisher of News of the World. However, his initial suit was not one for defamation or libel because the allegations in the story were, for the most part, factually correct.8 Instead, Mosley alleged both ―breach of confidence and/or the unauthorised disclosure of personal information,‖9 and claimed the latter offense had infringed his ―rights of privacy as protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms‖ (―Convention‖).10 For these alleged abuses, Mosley sought exemplary11 and compensatory damages.12 Columnists in the English press were noticeably anxious about the nature of Mosley‘s claims. Upon seeing the grounds for the lawsuit, a few commentators went so far as to characterize Mosley‘s suit as a major threat to press freedom.13 The claim of breach of confidence was common enough, but the principal reason for the apprehension was Mosley‘s insistence that his ―rights of privacy‖ had been violated. To recognize this claim, journalists opined, would be contrary to the history and spirit of 7. Mosley v. News Group Newspapers (Mosley Injunction Request), [2008] EWHC (QB) 687. 8. Truth, or ―justification,‖ of course, remains a defense for libel under both American and English law. See Reynolds v. Times Newspapers Ltd, [1999] UKHL 45, [1999] 4 All E.R. 609, x (―Truth is a complete defence. If the defendant proves the substantial truth of the words complained of, he thereby establishes the defence of justification.‖). Ultimately, Mosley did not dispute the basic truth of the News of the World‘s claims with this lawsuit. He admitted to engaging in S&M role-playing and that he had paid the women £500 each for their services. Graham Tibbetts, Mosley Admits Passion for S&M Sex But Denies Nazi Role-Playing, DAILY TELEGRAPH (UK), July 7, 2008, at 9. However, some of the women involved stated that they often engaged in sexual activity of this kind for free and disputed their characterization as ―prostitutes.‖ Mosley, [2008] EWHC (QB) 1777, [121]. The Mosley decision also addressed a key factual error in the News of the World‟s reporting which could have been the basis for a defamation suit. It was determined in the opinion that the orgy might have had a ―German military‖ or prison camp theme, but not the specifically ―Nazi theme‖ alleged by the News of (...truncated)