Committee briefing: Press standards and privacy

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ePolitix.com reports on Tuesday's culture, media and sport committee evidence session on press standards, privacy and libel.

Motorsport executive Max Mosley revealed that he was left an estimated £30,000 out of pocket after his legal action against the News of the World newspaper.

Mosley had been awarded a record £60,000 in privacy damages after the paper wrongly claimed that he had taken part in a "sick Nazi orgy".

But he was still forced to cover some of his legal costs after the paper paid £420,000 of his £500,000 bill.

Mosley, 68, president of motorsport governing body the FIA, was giving evidence to the Commons culture, media and sport committee on press standards, privacy and libel.

He revealed: "To me it was worth it, but an awful lot of people would say 'if in addition to getting everything repeated again, I'm going to have a big bill, I'm not going to do it'."

He suggested that newspapers "calculated" that the potential size of any legal bill would encourage people not to sue.

And if he had lost his privacy case, Mosley claimed that he would have ended up with a bill close to £1m.

Mosley also suggested that he would still consider a libel case against the News of the World, but he expressed reservations about appearing "money-grabbing or vindictive".

He told MPs that there should be trust in judges to regulate the media, rather than the media regulating themselves.

But he also stated that he did not want to see restrictions on genuine investigative journalism.

He said: "If I were doing something wrong within the FIA or doing something wrong to do with Formula One, the press would have every right to publish it. That's what papers are for.

"But they shouldn't confuse that with wishing to publish things about someone's sex life."

The motorsports boss admitted that he would "relish" a libel case against the News of the World. But he explained that it all depended on whether he would take on another term as president of the FIA.

Paul Farrelly (Lab, Newcastle-under-Lyme) highlighted Mosley's written evidence which stated that the News of the World had shown "contempt" for the law by applying for 'newspaper of the year' based on revelations about Mosley's sex life.

"I could negotiate a conditional fee arrangement (CFA)," Mosley said.

"It is attractive. But the other element to bear in mind is that I have to be careful not to appear as money-grabbing or vindictive. They could make it sound as though I was behaving badly."

He added: "What I don't want is to appear to be somehow a bully in this situation."

But he praised CFAs as an "absolutely vital as part of the legal system".

Mosley also called for members of the public who are involved in news articles to be given prior notice about their inclusion.

He admitted that pre-notification could be represented as a "huge inconvenience" for papers.

But he explained his own case to illustrate why he felt a further requirement to notify those involved in media stores was necessary.

"They publish a spoof first edition. Then the real edition comes out in the middle of the night and it is impossible for the victim to do anything," he said.

"In my case, they knew perfectly well that if I had known about it I would have gone to the judge and got an injunction. There shouldn't be a loophole in the law."

Mosley called for people who are involved in a story that is not in the public interest to be notified.

"We currently allow the editors of these papers to by-pass the law and put the victim in a position where he has no remedy," he said.

But Adrian Sanders (Lib Dem, Torbay) highlighted the problems with pre-notification, saying there was friction between the right to privacy and the freedom of expression.

Mosley replied: "The whole point of a judge confronted with finding the balance between article eight and ten is that he weighs the public interest against someone's privacy."

Returning to pre-notification, Mosley suggested that a "sufficient" period of time was required to contact solicitors and judges.

He suggested "three or four days notice" should be given by newspaper editors.

And on the impartiality of judges, Mosley suggested: "They may not be perfect but they are better than a tabloid editor."

"I would support a privacy law. I think privacy is a fundamental right," he said.

"I would trust the judges to know what was private and what the public interest required for disclosure."

But he added: "I would want not the journalist to be imprisoned but for the organisation to be subject to an enormous fine."

He suggested that a substantial fine would act as a real deterrent to the press.

Penalties up to 10 per cent of a newspaper's turnover should be enforced, he said, adding that the money should go to the public purse.

And Mosley also criticised the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) over its self-regualtion system.

He explained that when the scandal around his sex life broke, his first reaction was to complain to the PCC.

But the motorsports boss explained that complaints can not be made if litigation has also been launched.

"That seems to me to be a mistake," he said.

"I see no harm in that at all. It is actually absurd to have a body that is in charge of a code committee. If you are going to have any proper rules, you can't let the journalists regulate themselves.

"It is like letting the banks regulate themselves."

And he criticised the code committee for not regulating at all on corruption.

Mosley is also currently using French law to sue the News of the World for libel. He explained that the new editor could go to prison for his role in the article.

"I bitterly resent what they did to me," he said.

And he also hinted that he could go after the Murdoch family under the French legislative system, describing their media empire as "purveyors of soft porn".

And he also attacked Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, and the Murdoch press for being able do "enormous damage" to any political body that tries to interfere.

He suggested that if the legislature was afraid of the press then that represented the "deterioration of real democracy".

That was one of his reasons for appearing before the committee, he explained.

"I'm hoping to persuade those who have the power to change the law to do so," he told the MPs, "Hence, my gratitude for being able to come here."

Mosley also described his reactions to appearing on the front page of the News of the World because of S&M sessions with various women and a colleague.

He explained candidly that he had been involved in such sexual practices for around 45 years and did not expect to be caught.

Committee chairman John Whittingdale stated: "You said you have been attending parties of this nature for 45 years.

"Had you not always worried that this was a timebomb that, sooner or later, was going to go off?"

But Mosley said he believed there was only a "small chance" of his private life being revealed because the S&M world was "incredibly secretive".

He explained: "It's not even talked about outside the circles. You would never tell someone who was not part of that world."

He added: "Nobody knew - my closest friend didn't know, my wife didn't know."

"I was horrified," he said. "It has never happened to me fortunately, but it felt like coming through your front door and everything in the house had been removed by thieves.

"I was shocked, annoyed, angry and outraged."

He later stated: "I had been doing this for 45 years and there was no hint that anybody knew. I was horrified.

"The sensation is a little bit like coming home finding your front door open and finding everything in your house removed by thieves. You have a sense that the law has been broken but an even greater sense that you had been invaded."

Mosley told the MPs that the experience was "a terrible, terrible thing".

"It is like imposing on someone the most enormous penalty," he said.

"If somebody takes away your dignity, for want of a better word, you never get it back.

"You know that they know. It is not very nice for me. But what is appalling is for my family. Putting myself in the position of my sons, can you imagine seeing those pictures of your father?"