Crown Prince of Bahrain bars Max Mosley

Max isn't smiling nowadays

Max Mosley, the chief rule-maker in world motorsport, is not attending the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend because he has been told by the Kingdom’s Crown Prince not to show up after revelations of his part in a sado-masochistic orgy with five prostitutes.

Mr. Mosley, who is fighting to save his career, had told friends that he would not be going to the race because he is too busy with his lawyers trying to assemble a case for invasion of privacy against the News of the World which on Sunday ran a lurid exposé of his bizarre sexual activities.

But The Times can reveal that Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, has written to Mr. Mosley informing him in no uncertain terms that he would not be welcome in the desert kingdom, an embarrassingly clear sign that Mr. Mosley’s reputation has been severely damaged.

“In light of the allegations, I suspect you may be deliberating on your planned attendance at the Grand Prix here in Bahrain later in the week," the Crown Prince told Mr. Mosley in a letter sent to him on Tuesday. “I therefore felt it important to convey the position of Bahrain and its people."

The allegations in question included a video showing Mr. Mosley, the son of the Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, engaging in spanking and bondage sessions with five call girls at a West London flat late last week in which he is clearly heard to speak in German.

The paper claimed there were Nazi overtones to the episode, something strenuously denied by Mr. Mosley. “Clearly of paramount importance is the success of the event for all concerned — the Kingdom of Bahrain, Formula One and spectators. The focus quite rightly should be on the race. With great regret," added the Crown Prince, “I feel that under the current circumstances, it would be inappropriate for you to be in Bahrain at this time."

The Crown Prince concluded by saying that he did not want to add to what he called the “difficulties that you find yourself in" but he hoped that Mr. Mosley would understand the position he had taken.

The letter is a big blow to Mr. Mosley, the president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) the world governing body of motorsport, and underlines that, even as he fights to save his career, he is already a liability to his own organization. The Times Online