Background: what about the missing e-mails? | Analysis: a ruling that raises the stakes | What happened at the orgies |

Max Mosley, the Formula One boss, has declared himself delighted after winning record damages in a privacy action against the News of the World.

A judge ruled that there was "no evidence" that two orgies in which he took part had any Nazi theme.

Delivering his verdict at the High Court, Mr Justice Eady in London awarded the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) president £60,000, which is a record damages payout for a breach of privacy in a case decided by a court.

The tabloid had claimed that the son of the wartime fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley had developed an unhealthy addiction to sadomasochism, spending £75,000 a year on violent orgies. It had claimed that his behaviour was a matter of public interest due to his position as Formula One boss.

It added that an orgy on which it reported and secretly recorded on March 28, 2008, was deliberately designed to be a Nazi-style event, with Mr Mosley posing as a concentration camp prisoner and the prostitutes acting as guards.

However, Mr Justice Eady today agreed with Mr Mosley that the newspaper had recklessly ignored his right to privacy and was only interested in the material gain from publishing its exclusive story and the accompanying video, which sent its website ratings soaring.

Standing outside court after the judgment, a smiling Mr Mosley said the judgment proved the Nazi claims were a "lie".

"I would like to say I am delighted with a judgment which is devastating for the News of the World," he said, in a short statement.

"It demonstrates that their Nazi lie was a complete invention with no justification.

"It also shows they had no right to go into private premises and take pictures and film adults engaged in activities which are no one’s business but their own to know. I am very pleased with this result."

In his ruling, Mr Justice Eady dismissed claims that the orgy had any Nazi theme, saying that there was "no genuine basis" for the suggestion that Holocaust victims had been mocked.

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