If this is true, who do you think could have set Max Mosley up and why?

Question

Max Mosley was warned by Bernie Ecclestone people had been hired to discredit him two months before his private life was exposed.

Dean Attew, an intelligence consultant who formerly worked for Ecclestone and also advised Mosley, revealed that he was contacted early this year by people who wanted Mosley removed from office.

"I received a call from a friend in January this year," Attew told The Times. "We had a meeting and I was told there was an open budget to effectively go out and source material that would bring Max to his knees, remove him from office, and discredit him publicly.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68669

Answer 1

Don't believe all you read in the press.  First off, Max has no control over F1 revenue; even if he could force the teams to compete under FIA auspices, the EU has already ordered the FIA to stay out of the commercial side of the sport.  So it is pretty clear that this is not about F1 revenues.  And actually Bernie has relatively little control over the finances too, until such time as the teams sign a long term agreement with FOM.  Until that occurs, the teams can tell both Bernie and Spanky to go play with - well, with each other while the teams run a stand alone F1 series.  Bernie and Max have each tried to establish ownership of the "Formula 1" trademark but failed.

This announcement is just PR by Bernie to try to assure Spanky that Bernie didn't have anything to do with the NOTW revelations.  So long as Bernie can keep Spanky reasonably friendly, Bernie's alleged bribing of Spanky (selling Bernie the F1 television rights for a fraction of their real value) may be impossible to prove.  So eventually it ends up being about money, as noted by another answerer . . . .

Answer 2

If it was a campaign to damage Mosley's career then there are a few suspects to choose from, Mosley was considered an embarrassment and a liability in motor sport (not just F1) before the s*x scandal. Although if it is true, then why would Attew have said at the end of that piece: "When we saw what was in the News of the World, Bernie was as flabbergasted as I was." Especially given that the whole piece was about Attew claiming to know that people were "out to get" Mosley. I don't trust the integrity of a spy myself so I will not take Attew at his word. That whole piece reads too fictional.

Answer 3

People are always trying to discredit people in power like that.

But Max could have easily avoided this by not romping around with n**i hookers, setup or no.

Answer 4

I think Mark J has hit the nail on the head.

Ecclestone has been a bit too smug about his 'good friends' predicament. Initially saying it was none of our business what adults got up to then doing a complete volte-face.

Its all very strange, In think Max is being hung out to dry. . .no pun intended.

Answer 5

I can well believe that there was a deliberate plot to discredit Moseley. You'd need to follow the money.. who stands to gain by Moseley being deposed as head of FIA?

my guess would be is that if there is a plot its come from within Formula 1.. as they are the ones who stand to loose under Moseleys proposals.. he wants to spread some of the revenue from F1 into other areas of motorsport.

my immediate suspisicion would be that the person/organisation with most to loose if Moseleys proposals go ahead is Ecclestone and his immediate family trusts/companies who effectively control F1 through th emedia rights

Answer 6

his old man was the leader of n***s in great britain dont tell me it did nt rub of on him to some small degree . he is a disgrace to great britain and should have gone years ago .

Answer 7

I would've thought being the son of Oswald Mosley - leader of the British Fascists in the 1930s -  a bunch of racists and n***s - was discrediting enough!