Mosley Critics Should Ask How They Would React To Similar Intrusion 

The controversy over the private sexual antics of Max Mosley has brought much pious opprobrium down on his head. But the critics miss the most important point. Should we tolerate this outrageous intrusion into a private life? Would the head honchos of BMW, Mercedes, Honda and Toyota, or the former Jackie Stewart, who have been quick to express their “disgust”, be happy to have their private moments filmed by News Of The World reporters hiding in vans.

Why didn’t they simply say that this was an unfair intrusion by an irresponsible, bullying newspaper, and given that its findings came up with nothing faintly criminal, could they have the next question please? The suspicion that there may be axes grinding away in the background looms large.

The News Of The World might have been justified if the transgression was perhaps Islamic terrorism, or the exploitation of children. But this was a sting operation which only found harmless sexual activity. The dossier was “sexed-up” by adding a faux element of Nazi sympathy. (I held my nose, broke the habit of a lifetime and read the story on the Internet. What a miserable comic for the ill-educated this newspaper is. What kind of country is this that there are apparently millions of sad, dimwit, losers actually paying money to read this garbage?). The coverage of this non-event on the BBC and mainstream media just took the story from the News Of The World as though it was some major, serious journalistic achievement when it fact it was a childish, ignorant, prurient piece of work which makes me want to describe myself as anything but a journalist.

The BBC hosted a phone-in on Radio 5 on Sunday which asked its guests whether Mosley should go. There was no question about the ethics behind the story. Mosley is not an elected politician on the public payroll. He works for an organisation, F1, that isn’t close to finding a cure for cancer, and is so high-principled that it tolerated its over-paid stars forcing their rivals off the track, without even raising an eyebrow in protest. Surely, given that no harm was done to any innocent people, the media’s response should have been outrage at the antics of the News Of The World. The BBC has a charter which insists on balance and fairness. Is it so scared of the News Of The World that it dares not criticise it and the principle-free scumbags who write the stories? I wonder how blameless and perfect their private lives are?

 Neil Winton – April 6, 2008